93 
(JLS3 


BOARD   OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS, 


OUR  1ST  A.  I. 


ISECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE! 


BOARD  OF  INDIAN  COMMISSIONERS 


THE  REPRESENTATIVES  QF  THT1  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES  COOPERATING 

WITH  THE  GOVERNMENT,  AND  REPORTS  OF  THEIR 

WORK  AMONG  THE   INDIANS 


WASHINGTON,   D*   C.,    JANUARY^  15,   1813* 


WAS  II I  N  G  T  O  N 

"GOVERNMENT      P  R  I  N  T  I  NG 

1873. 


BOARD   OF   INDIAN   COMMISSIONERS. 


JOURNAL 


OF  THE 


SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE 


OF   THE 


BOARD  OF  INDIAN  COMMISSIONERS 


WITH 


THE  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES  CO  OPERATING 

WITH  THE  GOVERNMENT,  AND  REPORTS  OF  THEIR 

WORK  AMONG   THE   INDIANS 


WASHINGTON,  D*  C.,   JANUARY   15,  1873* 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING      OFFICE. 
1873. 


LJL5 


JOURNAL  OF  THE  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE 
OF  THE  BOARD  OF  INDIAN  COMMISSIONERS 


WASHINGTON,  January  15,  1873. 

A  meeting  of  conference  was  held  by  the  Board  of  Indian  Commis 
sioners  with  the  representation  of  the  missionary  boards,  engaged  in 
Indian  missionary  work,  at  the  "Arlington,"  Washington,  D.  C.,  at  10 
a.  m.,  Wednesday,  January  15,  1873. 

There  were  in  attendance  Commissioners  Felix  R.Brunot,  (chairman,) 
Dodge,  Bishop,  Campbell,  Lang,  Tobey,  and  Farwell,  and  T.  K.  Cree, 
secretary  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  and  the  following  rep 
resentatives  of  the  mission  boards  of  the  churches  engaged  in  Indian 
work : 

Rev.  S.  B.  Treat,  D.  D.,  secretary  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions  ;  Rev.  Jay  L.  Backus,  D.  D.,  secretary  American 
Baptist  Home  Missionary  Association ;  Kev.  George  Whipple,  D.  D., 
secretary  American  Missionary  Association  ;  Rev.  George  Deshon, 
Ronftm  Catholic  Missions ;  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  D.  D.,  secretary  Pres 
byterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions ;  Rev.  R.  L.  Dashiell,  correspond 
ing  secretary  Methodist  Episcopal  Missionary  Society ;  Colonel  E.  C. 
Kemble,  secretary  Protestant  Episcopal  Indian  Commission ;  Rev.  John 
G.  Brown,  D.  D.,  secretary  Board  Home  Missions  United  Presbyterian 
Church ;  Rev.  J.  M.  Ferris,  D.  D.,  Reformed  Dutch  Church  Mission 
Society 5  Rev.  W.  L.  Hayden,  Christian  Missionary  Convention;  Dr. 
William  Nicholson,  Cyrus  Beetle,  Benjamin  Tatham,  Thomas  Wistar, 
F.  T.  King,  Society  of  Friends,  (Orthodox;)  Samuel  M.  Januey,  Daniel 
Foulke,  Dillwyn  Parrish,  B.  Rush  Roberts,  Richard  T.  Bentley,  (Hick- 
site;)  Rev.  John  T.  Sargent,  secretary  Massachusetts  Indian  Commission; 
Aaron  M.  Powell,  New  York  Indian  Aid  Society;  R't  Rev.  William  Hobart 
Hare,  missionary  bishop  of  Niobrara ;  Bishop  Harris,  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church;  Edward  P.  Smith,  American  Missionary  Association;  Hon. 
William  Welch  and  Mr.  King,  Protestant  Episcopal  Indian  Commission ; 
Hon.  C.  Cole,  United  States  Senate ;  Hon.  John  W.  Stevenson,  United 
States  Senate;  Hon.  C.  B.  Farwell,  House  of  Representatives ;  Colonel 
Phillips,  member-elect  to  House  of  Representatives ;  and  William  P. 
Ross  and  other  representatives  of  the  civilized  tribes  in  the  Indian  Ter 
ritory;  General  O.  O.  Howard,  United  States  Army,  and  many  other 
friends  of  the  Indians. 

The  chairman  called  upon  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Whipple  to  open  the 
meeting  with  prayer,  after  which  he  said  : 

In  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  it  gives  me  pleas 
ure  to  welcome  you  most  cordially,  and  to  say  that  we  appreciate  the 
effort  made  by  the  missionary  boards  of  all  the  churches  in  co-operating 
with  our  endeavor  to  civilize  and  christianize  the  Indian  wards  of  the 
nation.  Much  has  already  been  accomplished  toward  civilizing  the  In 
dian  race  ;  their  condition  has  been  much  improved,  and  a  more  just  ad 
ministration  of  the  laws  and  designs  of  the  Government  pertaining  to 
them  has  been  secured  by  the  co-operation  of  the  missionary  boards 
that  you  represent.  We  invited  you  to  meet  with  us  as  the  representa- 


BOARD  .OF    INDIAN  COMMISSIONERS. 


lives  of  these  boards  that  we  may  hear  such  statements  as  you  may 
have  to  make  in  regard  to  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  suggestions  as 
to  the  needs  of  it,  to  the  end  that  we  may  secure  greater  efficiency  and 
insure  continued  progress.  It  is  believed  in  thus  meeting  together 
much  good  may  be  accomplished  for  the  future.  So  much  has  already 
been  accomplished  as  to  make  it  almost  certain  that  if  four  years  more 
of  the  present  Indian  policy  is  pursued,  there  will  be  no  question  of  the 
same  humane  and  just  policy  being  adhered  to  so  long  as  an  Indian  policy 
by  our  Government  is  necessary.  There  has  been  much  pressure 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  administration  to  induce  a  change  in  the  In 
dian  policy,  but  public  opinion  has  sustained  it  in  its  high  aims.  But 
as  difficulties  are  met  with  not  only  by  the  administration  and  the 
friends  of  the  Indians,  but  by  the  agents  in  the  field,  it  is  necessary 
that  public  opinion  should  support  them,  also,  in  carrying  out  the 
designs  of  the  system.  The  board  will  not  attempt  to  instruct  the  mis 
sionary  societies  in  their  duties,  but  will  ask  such  recommendations 
from  them  as  their  experience  in  the  work  may  suggest  as  necessary  in 
successfully  carrying  it  on.  There  are,  however,  some  points  which  we 
think  essential  to  success. 

First  in  importance  is  the  selecting  of  agents  who  represent  you  in 
the  field.  The  very  best  attainable  men  should  be  secured  to  fill  these 
important  positions. 

Second.  The  employes  should  all  be  married  men  of  Christian,  or,  at 
least,  good  moral  character;  and  the  agent  should  be  held  responsible 
for  their  right  doing.  In  some  cases  in  which  the  agents  you  have 
nominated  have  been  Christian  men,  disposed  to  do  right  and  to  en 
deavor  to  civilize  and  christianize  the  Indian,  those  about  them  as 
subordinate  officials  have  not  been  men  of  the  same  character,  and  the 
efforts  of  the  agents  have  been  thwarted.  The  missionary  societies 
ought  to  know  not  only  that  the  agent  is  a  proper  man  for  his  position, 
but  that  all  his  employes  are  men  of  good  character,  and  they  should 
exercise  a  careful  supervision  of  the  agencies  committed  to  them,  and  see 
that  they  are  perfectly  conducted.  I  might  cite  many  other  needs  of 
the  service,  but  they  have,  doubtless,  all  suggested  themselves  to  you, 
and  will  be  brought  out  more  fully  in  the  reports  of  your  own  experi 
ence  in  the  work. 

I  will  call  upon  the  representatives  in  alphabetical  order  and  will  ask 
them  to  give  the  result  of  their  experience  in  the  operations  of  the  past 
year. 

Mr.  WELCH.  The  gentlemen  that  have  been  invited  to  meet  with  the 
•Board,  and  who  have  listened  to  your  statement  in  regard  to  the  kind  of 
agents  that,  are  necessary,  would  like  to  confer  with  you  in  regard  to 
the  difficulties  they  meet  with  in  the  field.  We  secure  an  agent  of  the 
right  kind — one  desirous  of  doing  his  duty — and  the  communities  living 
about  him,  interested  in  defrauding  the  people  committed  to  his  care,  in 
even"  way  endeavor  to  thwart  him,  and  even  here  such  agents  are 
threatened  with  removal  by  men  of  influence  if  they  continue  to  stand 
between  them  and  their  illicit  gains.  An  agent  beset  by  these  difficul 
ties  is  present  to-day.  If  you  need  strength  and  public  opinion,  will 
you  tell  us  in  what  direction  it  is  needed  ?  Some  men  say  and  think 
that  the  Indians  have  no  rights  that  a  white  man  must  respect,  any 
more  than  the  wild  beasts  that  roam  the  forest.  There  are  rings  that 
are  trying  to  secure  the  lauds  that  belong  to  the  Indians.  On  these 
and  any  other  points  we  would  be  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  in  this 
way  we  would  know  what  points  it  is  best  for  the  representatives  and 
agents  to  touch  upon  in  their  reports. 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.         5 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  The  points  to  which  you  refer  will,  I  presume,  come  up 
in  the  reports  of  the  representatives  of  the  missionary  societies,  and 
will  thus  come  before  the  meeting  for  consideration,  and  I  think  it  is 
better  to  have  them  presented  in  that  way. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Some  who  are  now  present  cannot  remain  until  the 
close  of  the  meeting1,  and  points  might  be  brought  out  thus  early  in  the 
meeting  that  would  be  of  value  to  them.  Your  secretary,  Mr.  Cree,  is 
here  and  he  is  conversant  with  all  the  difficulties  which  agents  and  others 
meet  with,  and  he  might  sum  up  the  most  important  for  consideration 
by  the  meeting. 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  We  have  all  noticed  the  pressure  to  attack  Indians, 
coining  from  all  quarters,  and  any  one  who  has  watched  the  proposed 
legislation  of  the  present  session  of  Congress,  could  not  but  observe 
how  many  propositions  there  are  looking  to  the  despoiling  of  Indians 
and  asking  legislation  unfavorable  to  them.  Many  border  people  seem 
to  think  that  the  Government  has  placed  Indians  upon  these  reserva 
tions  as  a  medium  through  which  the  whites  may  be  furnished  with 
money,  and  in  order  that  a  better  opportunity  may  be  afforded  to  oppress 
them  and  despoil  them  of  the  Government  bounty.  We  desire  that  op 
pression  of  Indians  may  be  prevented  and  that  wrong  against  them 
may  be  punished,  and  we  desire  the  assistance  of  the  missionary 
boards  in  carrying  out  these  designs.  The  subject  is  one  beset  with 
many  difficulties  in  its  details,  and  it  is  difficult  to  select  any  definite 
points  and  say  that  such  deserve  your  special  effort  at  this  moment. 
We  need  the  continued  co-operation  of  the  missionary  societies  and 
friends  of  the  Indians  in  getting  a  correct  public  opinion  and  prevent 
ing  the  commission  of  these  wrongs.  I  think  that  the  better  mode  for 
the  conduct  of  our  meeting  will  be  to  have  these  reports,  and  as  the 
meeting  progresses,  the  matters  which  you  have  suggested,  with  the 
modes  by  which  we  can  best  co-operate  with  each  other  in  preventing 
these  things  which  should  be  prevented,  will  develop  themselves.  1 
therefore  propose  to  ask,  in  their  order,  all  the  representatives  of  the 
societies  that  they  will  make  such  reports  as  I  have  spoken  of.  I  call 
on  the  Key.  George  Whipple. 

Mr.  WHIPPLE.  If  the  chairman  of  the  board  pleases,  I  will  ask  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  wrho  is  the  secretary  of  the  American  Missionary  As 
sociation,  to  make  a  few  remarks  in  relation  to  the  agencies  under  the 
charge  of  the  Americam  Missionary  Association. 

Mr.  SMITH.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not  aware  to  what  extent  the  board 
desires  a  report,  but  I  will  state  that  the  association  has  had  under 
its  charge  during  the  year  four  agencies,  one  in  Washington  Terri 
tory,  one  in  Minnesota,  and  two  in  Wisconsin.  There  are  in  all 
about  sixteen  or  seventeen  thousand  Indians  under  thejr  care. 

The  agency  at  Green  Bay,  under  Mr.  Richardson,  has  had  a  year  of 
prosperity,  to  which  the  personal  efforts  of  the  agent,  aided  by  friends 
of  the  Indians,  have  contributed  very  much.  The  consent  of  the  De 
partment  having  been  obtained  by  the  agent,  the  Menornonee  Indians 
did  their  own  lumbering  last  winter,  and  the  lumber  which  they  took 
into  market  realized  $20,000,  which  left  to  the  Indians  about  $12,000 
net  after  all  expenses  were  paid.  A  double  benefit  thus  accrued  to  the 
Indians, the  benefit  arising  from  beingtherecipientsof  the  proceeds  of  the 
outlay  for  subsistence  and  the  encouragement  to  labor.  A  great  outcry 
was  raised  by  the  lumbermen  of  Wisconsin  against  this  transaction, 
which  was  officially  represented  through  a  Wisconsin  Representative  in 
the  House,  and  a  commission,  of  which  Mr.  Turney,  of  the  Board  of 
Indian  Commissioners,  was  a  member,  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary 


6  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

of  the  Interior  to  inquire  into  the  matter.  The  report  which  represented 
the  transaction  as  being  in  every  way  a  beneficial  one,  and  entirely  up 
right,  was  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  Department. 

Permission  for  the  Indians  to  lumber  was  asked  for  again  this  year  by 
Mr.  Eichardsou,  but  owing  to  the  interference  of  parties  in  Wisconsin, 
it  was  not  granted.  Subsequently,  through  the  misrepresentations  of 
interested  parties,  the  Department  asked  the  association  to  discharge 
Mr.  Eichardsou  and  nominate  another  man  in  his  place. 

The  agencies  at  Superior  and  Chippewa  have  had  a  prosperous  year 
in  many  respects,  and  their  schools  have  gone  forward  with  considera 
ble  success. 

The  agency  in  Minnesota  is  much  more  difficult,  as  it  is  a  larger 
field,  the  reservations  connected  with  it  being  scattered  all  over  the 
State.  There  have  been  built  at  the  reservations  this  year,  one  hun 
dred  and  nine  comfortable  log-houses,  18  by  22  feet,  with  five  rooms 
in  each  house.  The  work  was  all  done  by  the  Indians,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  some  portions  which  actually  needed  the  services  of  skilled 
carpenters.  '  The  lumber  has  been  all  sawed  by  the  Indians,  and  the 
engineer  is  a  full-blood  Indian. 

Their  crops  in  the  spring  were  very  fine  indeed,  but  they  have  since 
been  all  destroyed  by  the  grasshoppers,  and  there  is  likely  to  be  suffer 
ing  among  them  this  winter.  They  have  supported  themselves  by  labor 
during  the  past  summer.  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the 
association  as  to  the  practicability  of  christianizing  these  Chippewas,  or 
any  other  Indians  under  their  charge.  It  is  only  a  question  of  time 
and  patience,  of  kind  and  fair  dealing,  and  they  think  the  Govern 
ment  ought  to  make  considerable  appropriations  to  forward  the  work. 

It  is  a  constant  complaint  that  the  new  plan  is  costing  more  than  the 
old  one.  So  it  does  for  the  present.  I  can  go  into  Minnesota  and  dis 
tribute  their  blankets  to  them  or  give  them  their  ten  dollars  per  year 
each,  and  then  leave  them,  and  the  cost  will  be  much  less  than  staying 
with  them  and  opening  schools  and  farms.  But,  in  the  former  case, 
the  distribution  of  blankets  and  their  support  would  have  to  be  con 
tinued  while  they  exist,  while  in  the  latter  they  will  soon  become  self- 
supporting,  valuable  citizens,  and  eventually  millions  of  dollars  will  be 
saved.  The  old  plan  would  require  a  persistent  and  continued  expend 
iture,  while  the  new  plan  will  soon  obviate  the  necessity  for  any  out 
lay.  I  have  no  question  but  that  a  single  generation,  with  the  children 
kept  in  school,  will  crush  the  barbarism  in  Minnesota. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  AVe  would  now  be  pleased  to  hear  from  Bishop 
Whipple. 

Bishop  WHIPPLE.  Mr.  Chairman,  as  the  agency  in  Minnesota  is 
more  directly  under  the  eye  of  Mr.  Smith,  I  will  not  do  more  than  make 
a  few  remarks  upon  these  agencies.  I  have  been  at  the  White  Earth 
agency,  and  with  all  the  Indians  in  the  northern  part  of  Minnesota., 
and  for  the  first  time  in  my  connection  with  Indian  affairs  have  I 
found  an  agent  and  his  employes  wholly  occupied  with  their  labor 
for  the  Indians.  It  is  not  simply  that  the  agent  has  been  faithful.  He 
has  had  to  grapple  with  the  most  terrible  resistance.  These  things 
should  be  considered.  It  is  a  matter  of  law.  There  is  no  law  in  the  In 
dian  country.  The  Christian  Indian  is  taught  by  his  teacher  that  he 
is  not  to  pursue  the  old  plan  of  acting  under  the  law  of  instinct.  His 
crops  may  be  injured  and  destroyed,  and  he  is  perfectly  helpless,  as  the 
Government  has  never  provided  any  judicial  officer  to  protect  his  rights. 
One  Indian  may  kill  another  in  the  most  populous  town,  and  no  ques 
tions  are  asked.  An  Indian  has  killed  another  in  the  streets  since  I 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  7 

have  resided  there,  and  it  was  considered  a  matter  of  no  consequence. 
The  Government  leaves  these  Indians  utterly  unprotected.  Cases  of 
murder  are  occurring1  constantly,  and  an  effort  to  protect  these  Indians 
brings  down  great  opposition.  I  think  a  great  deal  of  credit  is  due  to 
the  wife  of  the  agent.  She  has  taken  a  great  interest  in  all,  endeavor 
ing  to  civilize  and  elevate  the  Indian  women.  Mrs.  Smith  has  been 
teaching  these  women  to  make  soap,  and  their  households  have  been  en 
tirely  renovated  5  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  every  effort  which  honest,  faith 
ful  Christian  people  could  make  for  the  safety  of  these  poor  people  has 
been  made. 

The  difficulties  in  Minnesota  grew  merely  out  of  the  lack  of  any  law 
whatever.  The  Leech  Lake  Indians  are  perhaps  one  of  the  worst  bodies 
of  Indians,  in  this  respect,  to  be  found  in  the  country.  They  have  again 
and  again  committed  murder  among  their  own  people.  For  instance, 
Hole-iu-the-Day  was  killed ;  he  was  chief  of  the  tribe.  We  have  had 
at  least  twenty  such  murders  committed  in  open  daylight. 

Mr.  WHIPPLE.  Mr.  Chairman,  permit  me  to  ask  Mr.  Welch  to  make 
a  few  remarks  relative  to  the  Indians  of  whom  we  have  been  speaking. 

Mr,  WELCH.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  had  an  official  interview  with  General 
Sheridan  in  regard  to  the  character  of  these  Indians.  He  stated  that 
although  considerable  trouble  was  occasioned  at  times  by  the  Chippe- 
'was,  and  he  was  compelled  to  punish  them,  he  did  not  blame  them  so 
much,  because  in  nearly  every  case,  they  were  aggravated  by  wrongs. 
He  felt  assured  that  if  the  Government  would  pursue  a  right  and  just 
course  toward  these  Indians,  a  large  proportion  of  the  crimes  could  be 
remedied.  I  think  the  Chippewa  Indians  are  the  worst  band  I  have 
known  in  Minnesota.  I  want  to  say  a  word,  Mr.  Chairman,  about  these 
Leech  Lakes.  They  are  ordered  by  the  government  of  Minnesota  to 
remain  on  the  reservation.  They  have  $4,000  a  year  for  agricultural 
purposes  and  purposes  of  tillage,  and  there  are  about  two  thousand  of 
them.  They  could  not  remain  on  their  reservation  and  make  a  living. 
It  would  be  a  question  of  starvation  or  of  disobeying  the  Government 
authorities.  They  roam  all  over  Minnesota  and  are  liable  to  come 
in  contact  with  the  whites,  who  are  ordered  to  drive  them  back,  and  if 
necessary  raise  the  militia  and  force  them  back.  The  agent  says  they 
come  up  to  the  reservation  and  ask  me  to  give  them  work.  I  have  not  a 
dollar  of  money  and  cannot  get  it,  yet  there  are  these  Indians  among 
us,  and  we  are  directed  by  the  Department  to  keep  them  on  the  res 
ervation.  They  cannot  live  on  the  reservation.  They  came  to  me  last 
summer — more  than  a  hundred  of  them — and  asked  me  to  give  them 
work.  If  I  had  an  appropriation  I  might  give  them  work. 

Mr.  B.UUNOT.  There  appear  to  be  two  very  important  facts  developed 
by  this  statement.  One  of  these  facts  is  that  it  is  not  admitted  that  the 
Indians  have  any  right  to  make  a  living  on  the  reservation  by  selling 
.the  lumber  which  belongs  to  them,  for  thus  they  may  conflict  with  the 
whites  in  the  neighborhood  ;  and  the  other  one  is  this:  it  has  just  been 
represented  that  they  are  not  to  have  leave  to  go  off  the  reservation,  for 
the  purpose  of  earning  a  living  by  labor. 

Mr.  TATHAM.  I  propose  that  these  two  facts  and  all  other  points  which 
are,  or  may  be,  deemed  of  interest  in  the  course  of  the  council,  be 
especially  noted,  in  order  that  the  condition  of  these  Indians  may  be 
brought  to  view  at  a  future  time.  It  is  proper  that  we  should  hear  the 
truth,  and  I  am  in  hopes  that  nothing  here  developed  will  be  lost,  and 
that  the  secretary  will  make  notes  of  the  points  as  we  goon. 

Dr.  NICHOLSON.  Our  body  has  charge  of  the  Indians  in  the  Central 
superiutendency,  which  embraces  all  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  a  few 


8  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

in  Kansas,  numbering  in  all  about  18,000,  two-thirds  of  whom  are  rov 
ing  Indians,  differing  very  much  in  their  habits  and  modes  of  life.  We 
have  fourteen  schools — three  in  Kansas  and  eleven  in  the  Indian  Terri 
tory.  We  endeavor  to  teach  the  ordinary  branches,  but  are  particu 
larly  desirous  of  imparting  moral  and  religious  truths.  Our  instruction 
in  the  schools  has  been,  as  far  as  possible,  such  as  will  fit  the  children, 
when  they  grow  up,  to  take  their  places  in  the  community  as  civilized 
people.  WTe  have  endeavored  to  teach  them  that  labor  is  not  degrad 
ing.  Our  teaching  is  largely  by  illustration,  using  maps,  charts,  pic 
tures,  and  objects,  which  are  familliar  to  the  eyes  of  the  pupils.  We 
try  to  be  thoroughly  practical,  and  in  moral  teaching,  to  illustrate  it  by 
the  lives  of  those  who  are  sent  to  instruct  them.  We  teach  truth  and 
honesty.  All  their  preconceived  ideas  and  practices  must  be  laid  aside. 
They  readily  receive  religious  instruction,  and  soon  learn  to  come  to 
God  in  prayer.  They  accept  religion  as  a  matter  of  faith.  We  consider 
this  an  important  feature  of  our  work.  We  take  the  boys,  place  them 
upon  farms,  and  teach  them  to  work,  and  the  result  has  been  very  sat 
isfactory.  The  girls  we  place  in  families,  and  they  are  taught  how  to 
work,  keep  house,  and  such  things  as  will  be  of  use  to  them  when  they 
come  to  have  homes  of  their  own.  Many  of  the  agencies  are  at  remote 
localities,  and  the  difficulties  incident  to  this  cannot  be  appreciated  by 
one  not  familliar  with  the  situation.  Some  agencies  are  three  hundred 
miles  from  the  railroad.  Everything  must  be  transported  by  ox-teams. 
There  are  no  bridges ;  and  with  every  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Govern 
ment,  at  times  supplies  fail  to  reach  the  agents  when  they  are  most 
needed ;  and  the  Indians,  needing  food  and  blankets,  become  dissatisfied 
and  hard  to  manage.  It  is  very  difficult  to  secure  employes  of  the  right 
kind,  and  at  the  more  distant  agencies  it  is  almost  impossible  to  secure 
such,  and  an  agent  must  take  such  as  he  can  get.  Most  of  the  whites 
whom  the  agent  finds  with  the  Indians  are  not  such  as  he  would  wish 
to  employ.  Interpreters  are  unreliable,  and  it  is  impossible  to  get 
Christian  men  who  speak  the  language  of  these  wild  southern  tribes. 
When  commissioners  go  to  treat  with  them,  they  cannot  understand 
what  is  said,  and  interpreters  may  put  any  construction  they  wish  upon 
what  is  proposed,  and  what  can  we  say  or  do  ?  We  are  powerless  in 
their  hands.  Sometimes  the  interpreters,  who  are  usually  ignorant  men, 
do  not  fully  understand  the  provisions  of  the  treaties  and  agreements, 
and  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  know  that  they  are  correct. 

Intruders  upon  reservations  are  a  serious  difficulty.  They  will 
come  in,  and  the  Government,  at  times,  must  be  called  upon  to  remove 
them.  White  Indians,  or  whites  who  have  been  adopted  into  Indian 
tribes,  occasion  us  much  annoyance.  They  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  or  Indians,  just  as  it  suits  their  interest  to  be.  They  have  great 
influence  with  chiefs,  and  often  decide  important  questions,  adversely 
to  the  interest  of  the  Indians,  if  it  suits  themselves.  Many  white  men 
ask  that  the  Department  shall  recognize  their  adoption  by  Indian  tribes. 

The  roving  habits  of  many  of  the  tribes  is  a  most  serious  difficulty. 
We  send  a  good  agent  and  missionary,  and  they  come  in  contact  with 
the  main  body  of  Indians  for  so  short  a  time  that  their  influence,  so  far 
as  civilization  goes,  is  very  slight.  Of  many  of  the  tribes  ninety-nine 
one  hundredths  are  away  on  the  plains,  out  of  reach  of  the  agent  much 
of  the  time,  and  Christian  influences  cannot  reach  such  tribes.  They 
refuse  to  leave  their  children  at  the  schools.  The  only  way  to  teach 
them,  we  find,  is  to  have  missionaries  and  teachers  go  with  them.  We 
have  one  such  with  Kicking  Bird's  band  of  Kiowas.  He  has  his  quar 
ters  with  the  chief,  and  it  is  easily  seen  how  great  an  influence  for  good 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  9 

his  constant  presence  with  them  in  their  wanderings  will  have.  He  has 
been  able  to  collect  many  of  the  children  in  his  u  roving  school,"  and  we 
anticipate  much  good  from  his  efforts.  If  we  get  such  missionaries  with 
all  the  roving  bands  their  influence  for  good  will  be  more  marked  than 
any  effort  the  Government  has  ever  made.  A  tribe  cannot  go  upon  a 
raid  while  the  missionary  is  with  them,  and  the  chief  is  responsible  for 
his  safety. 

The  increased  interest  of  the  Indian  children  in  their  schools  is  very 
encouraging  to  us.  The  children  used  to  run  away  from  the  schools, 
and  the  agents  had  to  keep  their  horses  saddled  most  of  the  time  to 
hunt  them  up  and  bring  them  back  ;  but  now  so  desirous  are  many  of 
them  to  attend,  that  when  the  parents  object  to  their  coming,  children 
will  run  away  from  home  to  attend.  Children  who  go  home  during  va 
cations  persuade  other  children  to  attend,  and  the  schools  are  as  large 
as  the  present  buildings  will  permit  of  tueir  being.  There  are  at  pres 
ent  four  hundred  and  twenty-live  children  in  our  schools.  We  have  sev 
eral  Sabbath-schools,  and  the  children  willingly  come  to  them  ;  and  in 
our  church  and  house  services,  whether  regular  service  or  the  study  of 
the  Bible,  the  adults  willingly  participate.  In  our  chapel  service  the 
minister,  in  some  cases,  uses  only  the  English  language  and  the  inter 
preters  translate  it  to  the  Indians.  Thus  religious  services  have  a  great 
influence  on  these  tribes.  They  are  evincing  more  interest  in  the  Sab 
bath-schools  and  prayer-meetings,  and  the  influence  of  them  is  being 
felt  upon  all  classes.  Even  the  half-breeds,  who  have  been  usually  the 
hardest  class  to  reach,  are  becoming  awakened.  In  some  cases  when 
they  have  yielded  to  temptation,  they  have  evinced  great  penitence, 
and  resolved  to  try  again.  There  is  an  increased  attention  to  the  sanc 
tity  of  the  marriage  tie,  and  the  agents  and  missionaries  have  given 
much  attention  to  instructing  them  in  regard  to  this.  Many  of  the 
chiefs  and  head-men  and  others  have  been  regularly  married  by  the 
agent  or  missionary,  the  ceremony  being  performed  in  the  church  and 
being  made  as  impressive  as  possible,  and  its  origin  and  the  law  of  God 
and  man  in  regard  to  it  explained  to  them. 

I  have  prepared  a  comparative  statement  showing  the  condition  of 
the  Indians  in  1868  as  compared  with  1872.  It  shows  a  marked  im 
provement — an  increase  in  population,  products,  and  schools,  and  in 
everything  that  goes  to  make  up  real  growth  and  advancement  in  civ 
ilization.  A  marked  improvement  is  manifested  in  the  raising  of  stock. 
It  is  the  natural  transition  state  between  roving  and  farming.  The  in 
crease  in  the  Central  superiutendency  in  this  item  is  tenfold. 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  We  will  now  hear  from  Mr.  Janney,  of  the  Friends, 
(Hicksites.) 

Mr.  JANNEY  said :  We  represent  six  yearly  meetings  of  Friends, 
namely,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  Baltimore,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Genesee. 

The  Indian  tribes  assigned  to  our  care  by  the  President  are  those  liv 
ing  on  reservations  in  the  State  of  Nebraska,  designated  as  the  North 
ern  superintendency.  comprising  six  agencies,  the  Sautee  Sioux,  the 
Winnebago,  the  Omaha,  the  Pawnee,  the  Otoe,  and  the  Great  Nemaha. 

Through  a  communication  recently  received  from  the  superintendent, 
Barclay  White,  we  are  informed  that  the  conduct  of  the  Indians  under 
his  care  during  the  past  year  has  been  peaceable  and  orderly,  no  act  of 
violence  having  been  committed  by  an  Indian  upon  a  white  person  in 
the  superintendency. 

The  Santee  Sioux  agency  is  situated  on  the  Missouri  River,  about  two 
hundred  miles  north  of  Omaha,  The  Indians  of  this  tribe  continue 
to  improve  in  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  arts.  They  all  wear  citi- 


10  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

zens'  dress  except  a  few  old  women.  All  sleep  on  bedsteads,  eat  from 
tables,  and  sit  on  chairs.  The  men  work  on  their  allotments  and  assist 
in  building  their  own  houses.  They  manifest  great  satisfaction  at  the 
issue  of  wagons,  harness,  plows,  &c.,  which  has  been  made  during  the 
year,  promising  to  make  good  use  of  them,  as  they  consider  it  an  evi 
dence  that  the  Government  desires  their  welfare  and  wishes  them  to- 
become  an  agricultural  people. 

The  women  of  this  tribe  are  improving;  and  in  order  to  in  struct  them 
in  household  duties  and  the  care  of  their  children,  the  Friends  have  em 
ployed  and  sent  to  their  aid  a  -woman  of  worth  and  intelligence,  whose 
example  and  teaching  are  exercising  a  salutary  influence. 

There  are  two  missions  at  this  agency,  one  of  them  supported  and  con 
ducted  by  the  Episcopalians,  the  other  by  the  American  Board;  both  of 
them  have  schools,  and  hold  meetings  for  divine  worship  in  which  the 
services  are  conducted  in  the  Dakota  language.  Most  of  the  Indians 
belong  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  churches,  and  many  of  them  can  read 
and  write  in  their  vernacular  language.  The  number  of  Indians  at  this 
agency  is  nine  hundred  and  sixty-five,  of  whom  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  are  males  and  five  hundred  and  forty-one  females. 

The  Winnebago  agency  is  situated  about  eighty  miles  north  of  Omaha, 
and  the  reservation  borders  on  the  Missouri  River.  The  improve 
ment  in  this  tribe  during  the  past  year  has  been  very  satisfactory.  All  the 
men  have  adopted  the  dress  of  citizens,  and  most  of  them  are  willing  to 
work.  At  the  commencement  of  the  wheat  harvest  about  two  hundred 
men  of  the  tribe  obtained  from  the  agent  permission  to  leave  the  reserva 
tion,  in  order  to  seek  for  work  in  the  neighboring  harvest-fields.  One  of 
the  farmers  afterward  reported  that  these  Indians  worked  equally  as 
well  as  white  laborers,  and  that  without  their  assistance  sufficient  la 
bor  could  not  have  been  obtained  to  secure  the  crops. 

The  annual  election  of  chiefs  by  this  tribe,  a  custom  not  yet  adopted 
elsewhere  in  the  superintendency,  is  found  to  work  well ;  and  is  consid 
ered  by  the  superintendent  and  agent  an  important  step  in  the  right  di 
rection,  being  calculated  to  fit  them  for  a  higher  plane  of  civilization. 
The  hereditary  chiefs  who  were  in  power  some  years  ago,  evince  but 
little  interest  in  the  improvement  of  their  people,  and  encourage  theold 
superstition.  The  Winnebagoes  have  recently  received  the  patents 
for  their  lands  allotted  to  them  in  severalty.  They  accepted  them  with 
many  grateful  expressions,  having  been  anxiously  expecting  them  for 
two  years  past.  More  than  a  year  ago  some  of  them  had  settled  on 
their  farms  in  houses  which  the  agency  carpenter  and  his  apprentices 
had  assisted  them  to  build,  and  within  the  last  year  thirty  new  houses 
have  been  completed  under  contract,  which  have  given  them  great  sat 
isfaction.  They  are  warm  and  convenient,  having  five  rooms,  and  are 
plastered  and  interlined  with  tarred  paper.  Every  family  that  goes  into 
one  of  those  houses  is  supplied  with  a  cooking-stove  and  a  heating-stove, 
a  wagon  and  harness,  a  bedstead  and  four  chairs.  The  agency  carpenter 
makes  tables  and  cupboards.  The  new  houses  have  been  given  to  the 
Indian  families  who  showed  most  industry  and  desire  to  improve  their 
allotments.  The  appearance  of  the  reservation  has  been  materially 
changed  by  being  dotted  over  with  these  cottages,  neatly  painted  with 
two  shades  of  brown  or  drab. 

The  three  day-schools  for  the  Winnebagoes  are  flourishing,  being 
taught  by  an  efficient  corps  of  teachers.  The  plans  "for  an  industrial 
boarding-school,  to  accommodate  eighty  scholars,  are  in  the  hands  of  an 
architect  for  completion,  and  the  building  will  be  erected  as  early  in  the 
spring  or  summer  as  practicable.  This  tribe  numbers  one  thousand  four 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        11 

hundred  aiid  forty,  of  whom  seven  hundred  are  males  and  seven  hun 
dred  and  forty  females. 

The  Omaha  reservation  lies  adjoining  to  that  of  the  Wiunebagoes,  and 
the  agency  buildings  are  about  seventy  miles  north  of  Omaha. 
The  Omahas  are  an  orderly  and  peaceable  people,. bearing  a  good  char 
acter  among  their  white  neighbors.  The  men  labor  in  the"  fields,  and 
in  favorable  seasons  raise  good  crops,  a  part  of  which  they  sell  and  ap 
ply  the  proceeds  to  useful  purposes.  They  have  cut  and  hauled  to  their 
saw-mill  a  large  quantity  of  timber,  which  has  been  converted  into  lum 
ber,  and  much  of  it  transported  to  their  several  allotments.  The  agency 
carpenter  and  his  Indian  apprentices  have  built  a  number  of  comfortable 
cottages,  but  for  want  of  sufficient  funds  the  agent's  earnest  endeavors 
in  this  direction  have  been  impeded. 

The  tribe  having  accepted  the  provisions  of  a  recent  act  of  Congress 
authorizing  the  sale  of  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land  from  their  reserva 
tion,  arrangements  are  now  being  made  to  bring  it  into  market,  and  we 
have  no  doubt  the  proceeds  will  supply  ample  funds  to  build  houses,  to 
purchase  live  stock  and  agricultural  implements,  and  to  establish  an 
industrial  boarding-school.  They  have  now  three  day-schools  and  one 
Sabbath-school,  which  are  well  conducted,  and  much  prized  by  the  tribe. 
The  Omahas  number  nine  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  of  whom  four  hun 
dred  and  ninet3r-soven  are  males  and  four  hundred  and  seventy-two 
females. 

The  Pawnee  agency  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  west 
from  Omaha  and  a  part  of  their  reservation  lies  near  the  line  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad.  The  Pawnees  have  been  retarded  in  their  prog 
ress  towards  civilization  by  raids  made  upon  them  by  war  parties  of 
the  hostile  Sioux,  generally  of  the  Brule  and  Ogallala  bands.  These 
stealthy  marauders,  lurking  near  the  Pawnee  villages,  murder  and  scalp 
such  straggling  members  of  the  tribe  as  they  may  find,  and  then  quickly 
retreat.  They  have  sometimes  been  captured,  but  generally  elude  pur 
suit.  While  there  is  a  possibility  of  these  raids  the  Pawnees  are  reluc 
tant  to  abandon  their  villages  of  mud  lodges,  and  to  accept  of  allotments 
on  the  prairie,  which  would  contribute  to  their  health  and  progress  in 
civilization.  As  they  were  about  leaving  for  the  buffalo  hunt  this  win 
ter  they  had  eighty  ponies  stolen  by  the  Sioux. 

The  Pawnee  tribe  consists  of  four  bands,  one  of  which,  the  Skeedees, 
being  more  advanced  than  the  others,  is  preparing  to  move  out  from  their 
village  next  spring  and  settle  on  small  allotments  of  land.  The  chiefs 
in  council  have  accepted  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  author 
izing  the  sale  of  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land  from  their  reservation,  and 
measures  are  in  progress  to  bring  it  into  market.  The  sale  of  this  land 
will  supply  funds  to  build  houses,  to  purchase  live  stock  and  agricultu 
ral  implements,  and  to  advance  them  in  civilization.  Funds  are  now  on 
hand  for  the  erection  of  an  additional  building  to  the  Pawnee  manual- 
labor  boarding-school,  which  will  increase  its  capacity  to  nearly  one 
hundred  pupils.  There  is  one  day-school  in  successful  operation,  and 
buildings  for  two  others  will  be  constructed  as  soon  as  practicable. 

The  children  now  attending  school  are  progressing  well  in  their  studies,, 
and  their  parents  evince  their  interest  by  frequently  conducting  them 
to  school  and  remaining  to  witness  their  exercises.  A  Sabbath-school 
is  in  successful  operation,  and  practical  Christian  women  are  at  work  at 
the  Indian  villages,  nursing  the  sick  and  teaching  the  Indian  women 
how  to  fulfill  their  duties  as  wives  and  mothers.  This  tribe  numbers 
two  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-seven,  of  whom  nine  hundred  and 
nine  are  males  and  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-eight  females. 


12  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

The  Otoe  and  Missouri  tribe  of  Indians  live  on  a  reservation  in  tbe 
southern  part  of  Nebraska,  extending  over  the  Kansas  line  and  lying 
about  seventy  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  River.  Within  the  last  three 
years  they  have  greatly  improved  in  their  moral  and  sanitary  condition ; 
they  have  opened  farms  and  built  some  houses,  and  their  children  are 
enjoying  the  advantages  of  a  good  day-school  and  a  Sabbath-school. 

More  than  two  years  ago  the  agent,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  tribe, 
recommended  that  eighty  thousand  acres  of  their  land,  being  about 
half  the  reservation,  should  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  their 
improvement  and  civilization.  The  superintendent  approved  of  the 
recommendation,  and  a  bill  was  framed  and  offered  in  Congress  for  that 
purpose,  but  the  act  was  not  passed  until  last  session,  in  the  mean 
time  a  growing  restlessness  was  manifested,  and  a  party  was  formed  in 
favor  of  removal  to  the  Indian  Territory.  They  asked  and  obtained 
leave  from  the  agent  and  superintendent  to  visit  the  Indian  Territory. 
On  their  return  from  that  trip  the  superintendent  addressed  them  by 
letter  as  follows  : 

You  have  been  to  the  Indian  Territory,  arid  your  agent  informs  me  you  wish  to  sell  al 
your  reservation  and  remove  there.  If  you  are  all  of  that  mind  the  way  to  do  it  is  to  give 
your  consent  in  writing,  in  open  council,  for  the  sale  of  the  land  (eighty  thousand  acres) 
which  you  now  have  a  law  to  sell.  Express  your  desire  in  writing  in  open  council  to  sell 
the  remainder  of  your  reservation  and  remove  to  the  Indian  Territory,  and  if  Congress  and 
the  Great  Father  approve  of  your  wishes  at  their  great  council  to  be  held  at  Washington 
next  winter,  and  make  a  law  to  that  effect,  you  can  move  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

This  proposition  being  interpreted  to  the  Indians  in  council  they 
declined  to  adopt  the  recommendation  of  the  superintendent  and  refused 
to  accept  the  law  of  Congress  authorizing  the  sale  of  eighty  thousand 
acres. 

In  a  letter  from  Superintendent  Barclay  White,  received  last  month, 
he  says  "  he  held  a  council  with  the  tribe  in  the  autumn  when  he  found 
they  quite  ignored  the  subject  of  removal  and  seemed  to  avoid  any 
allusion  to  it."  He  believes  the  tribe  is  far  from  united  in  the  desire  to 
remove ;  but  he  has  informed  them  that  whenever  they  express  their 
wishes  to  him,  through  their  chiefs  in  open  council,  he  will  take  proper 
action  thereon. 

We  feel  assured  that  the  act  of  Congress  authorizing  a  sale  of  part  of 
their  land  for  the  purposes  stated  therein  was  wise  and  beneficent. 
Although  we  believe  their  removal  will  not  promote  their  welfare  we 
shall  not  interfere  with  their  independent  action,  but  shall  use  whatever 
influence  we  have  to  secure  for  them  a  fair  price  for  whatever  lauds 
they  may  conclude  to  sell. 

The  Great  Nemaha  agency  embraces  two  small  tribes,  the  lowas  and 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes  of  Missouri,  living  on  adjoining  reservations  near 
the  Missouri  Biver,  in  Nebraska,  and  extending  over  the  Kansas  line. 

The  lowas  have  within  the  last  three  years  given  evidence  of  marked 
improvement.  They  were  formerly  a  drunken,  idle  people,  now  they  are 
temperate  and  industrious,  evincing  great  interest  in  the  education  of 
their  children,  in  the  furnishing  of  their  houses,  and  in  fencing  and 
cultivating  their  farms.  They  have  a  good  school  and  an  orphans'  home. 
This  institution  has  proved  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  tribe,  and  is  worthy 
of  more  liberal  support.  This  tribe  numbers  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  fourteen  are  males  and  one  hundred  and 
eleven  females. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  only  eighty-eight  in  number ;  they  have  made 
less  improvement  than  any  other  Indians  in  the  superintendence,  many 
of  them  being  addicted  to  intemperance  and  idleness.  They  have  re- 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        13 

quested  to  be  removed  to  the  Indian  Territory,  and  arrangements  for 
that  purpose  are  now  in  progress. 

Population. — The  whole  number  of  Indians  in  the  Northern  superin- 
tendency  is  six  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-eight,  of  whom  two 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty  are  males  and  three  thousand  six 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  females.  This  shows  an  average  increase 
within  the  last  year  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  ;  all  the  tribes,  except 
two,  having  gained  in  numbers. 

Civilization. — In  our  efforts  to  promote  the  civilization  of  the  Indians 
under  our  care  we  have  endeavored  to  lead  the  men  by  gentle  and  just 
measures  to  habits  of  industry  and  sobriety,  encouraging  them  by  liberal 
compensation  for  their  labor,  and  building  houses  for  the  most  indus 
trious.  The  allotment  of  land  in  severally  to  some  of  the  tribes  has 
had  a  salutary  influence  by  supplying  additional  motives  for  industry 
and  thrift.  There  has  been  a  marked  improvement  in  this  respect,  but 
we  cannot  expect  them  to  abandon  suddenly  the  idle  and  uncleanly 
habits  of  savage  life. 

We  consider  it  exceedingly  important  that  the  Indian  women  should 
be  instructed  in  domestic  duties  and  in  the  proper  care  of  their  children. 
In  order  to  effect  this  object  we  have  several  pious  and  intelligent 
women  now  engaged  in  this  field  of  missionary  labor,  whose  services 
are  well  received  and  very  salutary.  Our  chief  reliance,  however,  is  in 
the  education  of  the  children.  Most  of  them  are  bright  and  active, 
very  observing  and  apt  at  learning,  and  their  parents  generally  encourage 
them  in  the  attendance  of  school.  A  system  of  object-teaching  has 
been  adopted  in  our  schools  which  interests  the  children  and  fixes  their 
attention.  The  English  language  only  is  taught,  and  we  consider  it 
very  desirable  that  this  should  supersede  as  soon  as  possible  their  ver 
nacular  speech,  in  order  that  they  may  assimilate  with  white  people 
and  become  citizens. 

The  children  attending  our  schools  are  clothed  almost  entirely  with 
materials  or  ready-made  garments  sent  out  by  the  Society  of  Friends. 
Those  attending  the  missionary  schools  at  the  Santee  agency  are  clothed, 
we  believe,  by  the  religious  societies  having  them  in  charge.  The  Sab 
bath-schools  at  the  several  agencies  are  exerting  a  good  influence  upon 
the  children,  and  on  those  of  the  adults  who  attend.  The  basis  of  in 
struction  consists  of  lessons  from  the  Bible,  with  conversation  on  the 
truths  of  Christianity  adapted  to  the  condition  of  the  learners. 

There  are  now  in  the  Northern  superintendency  eleven  day-schools 
and  one  industrial  boarding-school  in  successful  operation,  with  a  pros 
pect  of  several  more  schools  being  established  this  year. 

The  six  yearly  meetings  of  Friends,  which  we  represent,  have  ex 
pended  in  the  Indian  service  during  the  year  $12,900. 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  Your  society  feels  encouraged  by  the  work  that  has  been 
done,  and  is  satisfied  that  a  continuation  of  the  same  policy  will  in  time 
accomplish  the  purpose  sought — the  civilization  of  the  Indians.  We 
will  now  hear  from  Dr.  Dashiell,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Dr.  DASHIELL  said:  During  the  past  month  a  change  in  the  adminis 
tration  of  affairs  in  our  office  has  taken  place,  and  I  am  not  prepared  to 
furnish  such  information  as  you  wish ;  but  Bishop  Harris  is  here ;  he 
has  been  connected  with  this  work  for  twelve  years,  and  he  can  give 
all  the  information  in  regard  to  it.  During  the  time  I  have  been  cor 
responding  secretary  a  good  degree  of  success  seems  to  have  crowned 
our  efforts.  As  secretary  of  our  society,  I  feel  that  the  duty  that  the 
Government  has  assigned  to  us  is  an  important  and  sacred  trust.  The 
nomination  of  agents  to  the  Department  has  given  me  more  anxiety  and 


14  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

care  than  any  other  subject  that  has  come  before  us.  We  feel  that  the 
success  of  this  policy  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  agents  we  name. 
We  have  been  embarrassed  by  some  who  ought  to  be  in  sympathy 
with  the  policy  of  the  President  recommending  to  us  men  unfitted  for 
the  positions.  These  men  ought  not  to  trouble  the  church  with  their 
friends,  and  men  in  Government  positions  of  influence  ought  to  keep 
their  hands  off  this  thing.  We  will  disregard  all  outside  influence,  and 
will  endeavor  to  give  the  services  of  the  very  best  men  that  we  can 
find.  The  general  conference  of  our  society  has  appointed  a  committee 
of  two  bishops — one  in  the  Northwest  and  one  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
They  will  thoroughly  investigate  the  subject  and  will  give  a  full  report 
to  the  next  general  conference.  I  will  now  ask  Bishop  Harris  to  speak 
for  us. 

Bishop  HARRIS  said:  It  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  say  anything 
after  what  Dr.  Dashiell  has  said.  I  have  had  no  connection  with  these 
agents  since  last  May.  I  came  that  I  might  aid  Dr.  Dashiell  in  any  way 
in  discharging  our  duty  as  a  church  to  the  commission  and  the  Indians. 
We  cannot  report  in  full  without  reports  from  our  agents,  and  those  we 
have  not  We  have,  in  Oregon  and  California,  special  committees  of 
ministers  and  laymen  to  take  an  oversight  of  the  work  in  the  various 
agencies  of  our  church  on  the  Pacific  coast.  These  committees  have 
made  reports  and  recommendations  that  have  been  forwarded  to  the 
Department.  Our  society  has  nominated  men  from  our  own  denomina 
tion  j  but  in  some  cases,  when  it  wras  thought  advisable,  have  named 
men  connected  with  other  churches.  With  one  or  two  exceptions,  the 
men  we  have  nominated  have  done  well.  We  gave  up  one  agency  in 
Oregon  to  the  Catholic  church,  as  they  had  many  members  upon  it.  We 
did  not  seek  for  agencies,  and  at  first  none  were  assigned  us  in  which 
we  had  missions.  We  did  not  then  understand  that  the  agencies  were 
assigned  to  the  denominations  that  had  missions  upon  them.  Some  of 
the  agencies  had  two  or  three  different  missionary  societies  working  upon 
them.  One  agency  was  assigned  to  our  church  to  make  an  opening  for 
an  agent.  He  was  afterward  removed  ;  but  we  are  glad  to  know  that 
it  was  not  on  account  of  dishonesty  or  immorality.  We  have  sent  a 
good  man  to  take  his  place.  I  have  been  informed  that  our  denomina 
tion  is  held  responsible  for  the  administration  of  Indian  affairs  in  Mon 
tana.  It  is  said  the  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  is  not  "  clean-handed.'1 
We  do  not  know  by  what  influence  he  was  appointed.  He  may  have 
been  recommended  by  members  of  our  denomination ;  but  we  do  not 
hold  ourselves  responsible  for  the  odium  of  his  administration  and  the 
disgrace  of  his  official  misconduct.  I  believe,  with  the  exception  of  this 
region,  our  agents  have  all  been  faithful  to  the  Government.  In  mis 
sionary  work  done  outside  of  Government  influence  (I  refer  to  all  except 
schools  and  the  work  of  agents  and  employes)  we  have  four  or  five 
native  ministers  ordained  by  our  church.  We  have  spent  three  or  four 
thousand  dollars  annually  in  support  of  these  ministers.  We  have  a 
very  prosperous  mission  at  Yakiiua  agency  at  very  little  cost  to  us.  The 
agent  is  a  minister  of  our  church,  and  every  one  speaks  well  of  him  and 
of  his  work.  In  Portland,  two  years  ago,  two  Indian  converts  from  this 
mission  were  ordained  to  the  ministry.  They  are  supported  in  part  by 
our  society.  One  is  engaged  at  the  Klamath  agency,  and  is  supported 
entirely  by  our  church.  We  have  missionaries  at  two  other  agencies  in 
Oregon,  where  we  had  none  when  they  were  assigned  to  us.  It  is  the  design 
of  our  church  to  plant  a  mission  at  each  of  the  reservations  assigned 
to  us.  A  contingent  fund  for  Indian-mission  work  wras  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  a  committee  of  bishops,  to  be  used  during  the  year,  how  and 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        15 

where  they  think  best.  This  committee  is  to  give  special  attention  to 
Indian  evangelization.  What  the  result  will  be  I  cannot  tell.  These 
bishops  will  visit  the  agencies  and  report  on  their  spiritual  and  temporal 
condition.  When  this  commission  thinks  that  the  work  can  be  better 
done  by  others  at  any  agency,  we  are  ready  to  relinquish  it.  We  have 
no  end  in  view  but  the  good  of  the  Indians  and  of  the  service,  and  when 
better  administration  of  affairs  at  an  agency  can  be  secured  by  others,  I 
am  ready  to  resign  it  to  them.  The  civilization  and  Christianizatiou  of 
the  Indians  must  go  together.  If  the  Government  and  the  churches 
would  turn  their  attention  to  Indian  evangelization,  they  would  much 
more  rapidly  accomplish  their  civilization. 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  We  will  now  hear  from  Rev.  Dr.  Lowrie,  of  the  Presby: 
terian  board. 

Dr.  LOWRIE  said  :  I  am  very  happy  to  attend  this  conference  as  a 
learner ;  we  desire  to  learn  from  the  experience  of  others  who  are  suc 
cessfully  engaged  in  the  same  work.  In  regard  to  the  working  of  the 
Indian-agency  system,  as  connected  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  all 
the  agencies  committed  to  us  were  assigned  us  without  any  effort  on 
our  part  to  possess  them,  or  knowledge  that  such  a  disposition  of  them 
was  proposed.  At  first  we  accepted  them  with  reluctance,  but  have 
since  come  cordially  into  the  arrangement.  In  the  appointment  of 
agents,  nearly  all  the  agencies  in  New  Mexico  were  tendered  to  us,  be 
cause  our  church  had  a  mission  among  the  Navajoes.  The  trust  was 
accepted  with  much  reluctance,  because  we  knew  many  of  them  were 
the  worst  set  of  Indians  to  manage  on  the  continent;  I  refer  more  par 
ticularly  to  the  Apaches ;  but  we  accepted  the  trust.  Nine  agencies 
were  tendered  us.  All  have  been  supplied  with  the  best  men  we  could 
find,  and  if  on  trial  it  is  found  any  are  not  the  best  men  for  the  position, 
they  are  to  be  removed.  In  one  or  two  instances  changes  have  been 
made,  not  on  account  of  character,  but  lack  of  adaptation.  Five  out  of 
nine  of  the  agents  have  been  with  tribes  not  upon  any  reservation, 
wandering  tribes  with  whom  they  are  not  able  to  accomplish  much  in 
the  way  of  education  or  civilization.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with 
the  Apaches  and  the  Uintah  Valley  agency.  In  the  Indian  Territory 
we  have  two  missions  ;  the  tribes  are  almost  civilized,  and  the  agents 
have  not  much  to  do ;  many  of  the  other  tribes  are  well  advanced.  The 
past  has  been  a  trying  year  to  most  of  our  agents;  one  of  them,  Mr. 
Miller,  agent  of  the  Navajoes,  was  killed  by  a  party  of  Utes.  In  New 
Mexico  we  have  two  agents,  but  there  are  many  reasons  for  discourage 
ment.  The  agents  went  from  the  highest  motives,  but  found  the  In 
dians  wild  rovers,  and  they  find  they  can  accomplish  but  little.  In 
regard  to  the  support  of  Indian  agents,  a  year  ago  I  was  in  a  minority 
who  said  their  salaries  were  large  enough ;  the  agents  think  such  a 
statement  rank  heresy.  I  will  explain  why  I  think  so.  The  salary  is 
$1,500  per  year.  On  inquiry  I  was  informed  that  a  place  of  residence 
was  furnished  and  transportation  to  it  was  paid.  We  stated  these  facts 
to  those  whom  we  desired  to  appoint,  but  afterward  ascertained  that  no 
transportation  was  allowed.*  There  is  a  great  inequality  in  this  matter 
in  regard  to  the  houses  for  agents  ;  some  have  good  houses,  others  none 
of  any  kind.  1  still  think  $1,500,  with  a  house  and  garden,  as  in  Kan 
sas,  or  places  equally  well  situated,  is  a  sufficient  salary.  Agents  have 
said  it  was,  arid  so  I  intended  to  say  last  year.  In  New  Mexico  our 
agents  find  a  single  room,  and  have  to  pay  rent  for  it,  and  in  this  room 
in  one  case  the  agent's  wife  gathered  the  Indian  children  and  tried  to  teach 
them  something.  So  uncomfortable  were  the  quarters,  and  so  high  was  the 

*  Transportation  is  allowed  to  the  agent,  but  not  to  his  family. 


16  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

price  of  living,  that  the  agent  soon  gave  up  the  position.  At  another 
agency  there  was  no  house,  and  the  a  gent  had  to  leave  his  family  two  hun 
dred  miles  away,  losing  the  influence  and  example  of  a  Christian  home 
to  the  agency.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  thinks  this  inequality 
ought  to  be  remedied.  We  find  it  increasingly  difficult  to  procure  good 
men  to  fill  these  isolated  positions.  I  hope  the  Board  will  take  some 
action  on  this  question  ;  yet  I  still  say,  with  all  these  defects,  it  is  a 
larger  support  than  we  give  our  missionaries  among  the  Indians,  and 
if  the  salary  is  a  large  one,  you  tempt  men  not  fitted,  to  apply  for  these 
positions.  When  it  is  practicable,  I  think  it  is  wise  to  have  the  agent 
and  missionary  of  the  same  denomination  ;  but  when  there  are  two  or 
three  missions  on  the  same  agency,  it  cannot  be  done.  We  had  a 
mission  for  twenty  years  among  tlie  Oman  as,  and  that  agency,  I  think, 
ought  to  be  in  our  hands.  In  New  Mexico  the  Tillage  Indians  are 
peaceable;  the  Apaches  and  Navajoes  are  not.  I  do  not  think  those 
Village  Indians  are  in  charge  of  any  denomination.  We  have  two 
teachers  among  them,  at  salaries  of  $600  each,  which  we  supplement. 
The  Pueblo  Indians  have  never  been  taught  to  read  and  write.  Perhaps 
out  of  hundreds  a  dozen  or  score  may  read  and  write.  A  clergyman  who 
endeavored  to  teach  them  wras  prevented.  As  regards  teachers  em 
ployed  as  missionaries,  or  imparting  religious  instruction,  we  do  not  ask 
any  support.  But,  for  schools  separate  from  religious  teaching,  we  think 
the  Government  ought  to  pay  for  such.  Our  board  cannot  erect  build 
ings,  and  cannot  get  titles  to  lands  on  which  to  put  them.  We  have 
urged  the  Government  to  put  up  buildings  for  schools,  and  give  the  use 
of  them  to  the  missionaries  free,  and  save  the  board  the  expense  of 
erecting  buildings.  We  put  up  a  building  among  the  Kickapoos,  which 
cost  us  rmany  thousands  of  dollars.  It  was  erected  by  permission  of  the 
Government,  but  it  is  all  lost  to  us  now.  Impress  the  point  that  the 
Government  ought  to  own  and  control  the  school-buildings.  We  have 
spent  $25,000  from  the  funds  of  our  board  during  the  past  year,  and 
are  ready  to  sanction  any  necessary  expense.  We  have  tried  to  have 
schools  in  every  place  at  which  we  have  an  agency.  Among  the  Nez- 
Perces  there  has  been  a  great  work  of  grace;  a  large  number  have  been 
brought  to  the  Saviour.  liev.  Mr.  Spaulding  received  a  warm  welcome, 
and  his  ministry  is  very  successful.  Our  church  is  deeply  interested  in 
the  new  Indian  policy.  It  is  a  great  work  the  boards  are  doing,  and  in 
placing  Christian  men  in  charge  of  these  agencies,  the  Government  has 
done  a  great  work.  The  people  will  stand  up  for  any  administration 
that  will  do  justice  to  the  Indians,  and  try  and  promote  their  welfare. 

Commissioner  BRUNOT.  I  will  now  call  upon  Mr.  Welch,  of  the  Pipt- 
estanJjJEjriscopal  Church,  to  report. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Eight  agencies  were  assigned  by  Secretary  Cox  to  our 
church.  We  did  not  want  so  many,  and  objected  to  it.  Secretary  Cox 
said  it  could  not  be  changed.  Devil's  Lake  was  given  to  us,  but  as  the 
Catholic  Church  had  a  mission  there,  we  gave  it  to  them.  Lake  Traverse 
was  given  to  the  Congregational  Church,  as  it  had  a  mission  there.  The 
Shoshone  agency  in  Wyoming,  the  agent  asked  to  be  appointed  to ;  his 
son,  a  noble  boy,  had  been  killed  by  Indians,  and  the  parents  wanted  to 
do  what  they  could  for  this  people.  Charges  were  made  against  him, 
but  the  chairman  of  the  Board  investigated  them,  and  the  charges  were 
not  sustained.  The  Shoshouesare  a  roving  people,  tractable  and  easily 
managed.  The  lied  Cloud  Indians  have  been  in  our  care  only  about 
one  year.  They  were  in  a  bad  condition  when  Dr.  Daniels  took  charge 
of  them.  He  hopes  soon  to  have  them  farming.  One  of  the  fiercest 
warriors,  Eed  Dog,  has,  since  his  visit  to  the  East,  been  on  a  peace  mis- 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  1 7 

sion  to  his  wilder  brothers,  and  Red  Cloud  wrote  a  letter  counseling 
peace.  Whisky  is  the  source  of  much  evil.  A  gentleman  wrote  me 
that  a  murder  which  was  committed  a  short  time  ago  was  directly  the 
result  of  whisky.  ]f  we  would  keep  whisky  from  the  Indians,  it  must  be 
kept  from  the  Government  traders. 

The  report  from  the  wilder  Sioux  is  very  favorable.  The  Upper  Brule 
a  gency,  under  Spotted  Tail,  Agent  Risley  writes  very  favorably  or'. 
Under  the  orders  no  employe  or  other  white  man  is  allowed  on  the 
reservation  living  with  an  Indian  woman,  unless  married  in  the  regular 
church  manner.  All  those  Indians  will,  we  hope,  be  upon  the  reserva 
tion  by  spring.  These  Indians  made  a  very  favorable  impression  when 
in  the  East  during  the  past  summer.  Spotted  Tail  said,  when,  looking 
around,  "Why  are  these  people  so  happy?"  and  told  his  people  they 
must  be  Christians  if  they  would  do  well.  They  are  asking  fin 
ch  arches  and  schools  among  them.  Our  church  is  conservative.  We 
accepted  the  trust  unwillingly,  but  we  now  go  into  it  with  enthusiasm. 
The  last  act  of  our  church  was  the  consecration  of  a  bishop  to  go 
among  these  people. 

Farther  up  the  Missouri  is  the  Cheyenne  River  agency.  It  is  occu 
pied  by  wild,  roving  Indians.  The  Poncas  are  imposed  upon  by  these 
wilder  Indians.  When  among  these  Poncas,  in  June,  I  found  former 
warriors  now  peace- makers.  They  have  erected  over  a  hundred  houses. 

The  mmissionaries  have  established  homes  at  the  little  villages  which 
they  are  forming.  They  were  building  houses  when  I  was  there,  and  are 
building  much  more  freely  now.  Some  of  the  men  who  were  warriors, 
and  were  fiercest  in  the  tight,  are  now  settling  down  and  becoming  civ 
ilized.  There  are  others,  who  are  very  bad  Indians,  who  come  in, 
and  occasionally  commit  murder  and  other  depredations;  arid  when 
officers  have  gone  out  alone  or  in  small  hunting  parties,  one  or  two 
of  them  have  been  killed.  One  was  seriously  wounded,  lately  ;  but  the 
progress  of  that  agency  has  been  such  as  to  thoroughly  encourage  us, 
not  because  of  any  rapid  change,  for  we  suppose  that  it  may  take,  per 
haps,  one-tenth  part  of  the  time  to  civilize  Indians  that  it  did  to  civil 
ize  our  own  race  ;  but  we  are  encouraged  greatly  as  to  the  final  result. 
We  are  willing  to  go  on  slowly,  and  I  must  confess  that  some  of  the 
men  who  had  been  leaders  in  the  fight,  for  instance  Little  Swan,  and  other 
men  of  that  character,  in  their  conference  with  me  seemed  to  be  entirely 
reasonable.  They  made  no  siuglepoint  that  was  not  tenable,  and  appeared 
to  talk  like  rational  and  reasonable  men.  The  difficulties  they  meet  with 
are  very  great  indeed.  The  Sioux  Indians  have  been  put  on  land  on  which 
a  white  farmer  could  not  live.  It  is  an  alkalic  soil,  incapable  of  irriga 
tion,  subject  not  only  to  the  grasshoppers,  but  to  very  great  droughts ; 
and  hence  it  is  a  very  great  question  what  can  be  done.  Fortunately, 
they  are  a  little  encouraged  in  consequence  of  the  peace-commission 
treaty  concluded  four  years  ago.  All  the  Indians  who  settled  on  that 
reservation  are  entitled  to  a  pair  of  oxen  and  to  a  cow ;  and  after  my 
return,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  after  the  conference  with  the  In 
dians,  promised  to  fulfill  that  part  of  the  treaty  stipulations.  It  had 
never  been  offered  to  them  before,  and  they  said  that  the  agents  never 
had  claimed  it.  The  Department  wrote  six  weeks  since  to  obtain  the 
names  of  all  the  Indians  on  the  Grand  River,  and  all  who  come  in  under 
that  treaty,  and  they  have  agreed  to  furnish  a  pair  of  oxen  and  a  cow 
to  each.  That  will  encourage  these  Indians  very  much.  They  are  much 
gratified,  and  are  now  building  houses  rapidly. 

The  next  agency  below  that  is  the  Pawnee,  with  several  agencies  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  in  which  are  the  Lower  Brules.  There  they  are 
2  I  c 


18  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

being  fed,  &c.,  but  seem  to  be  more  backward  in  receiving  education  and  in 
improvements  than  those  above,  and  less  disposed  to  build  houses. 
We  have  just  sent  two  noble  young  men  as  missionaries,  and  three 
ladies  experienced  in  that  work,  and  they  are  now  so  occupied.  One  of 
the  ladies  has  been  there  four  months,  has  opened  a  school,  and  has 
been  very  successful  indeed.  On  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  with  the 
Lower  Bruit?  we  have  a  missionary,  a  teacher,  and  two  ladies.  All  of 
them  have  been  experienced  before  with  the  Indians  lower  down  the 
river.  They  will  have  to  get  hold  by  slow  process  of  the  Lower  Brules, 
who  are  quite  intelligent,  but  have  imbibed  from  their  medicine-men 
natural  prejudices  against  Christianity ;  but  by  thorough  kindness,  we 
find  no  difficulty  in  overcoming  that. 

As  we  descend  the  river,  coming  to  the  Yankton  reservation,  the  pro 
gress  has  been  very  encouraging  indeed.  Ther  >,  four  years  ago,  we 
could  not  hire  a  man  to  carry  a  bucket  of  water.  The  Sioux  were  the 
laborers.  They  came  up  and  harvested  for  these  people,  who  looked 
at  them  entirely  as  beneath  them.  Then,  no  man  labored.  You  could 
see  the  women  pack  the  wood  on  their  backs,  struggling  along, 
and  now,  I  think,  there  are  nearly  two  hundred  wagons  in  which  you 
can  see  men  and  their  wives  riding,  as  you  would  observe  the  farmer  and 
his  wife  riding  in  our  eastern  sections.  They  are  building  many  houses  ; 
they  have  three  chapels  and  school-houses  which  are  very  well  attended, 
and  Christianity,  and  of  course  civilization,  have  taken  dee})  hold  upon 
them.  They  are,  however,  discouraged  by  reason  of  the  nature  of  their 
soil.  They  have  to  go  to  the  Missouri  River  for  all  their  water,  not 
being  able  to  dig  wells  deep  enough  to  get  anything  but  alkali  water. 
They  depend  entirely  upon  the  rains,  there  being  no  way  of  irrigating. 
They  may  be  able  to  have  wheat,  but  the  corn  crop  is  very  uncertain. 
These  Yanktons  have  taken  hold  of  their  work  j  labor  is  dignified 
among  them ;  the  marriage  rite  is  being  observed  ;  many  of  them  are 
united  according  to  the  rites  of  Christianity  ;  many  chiefs  have  put 
away  all  but  one  wrife,  and  I  cannot  conceive  of  the  influence  of  Chris 
tianity  being  exerted  more  rapidly  than  it  is  there.  The  board  have 
a  man  there,  Mr.  Williams,  a  very  excellent  man,  and  the  mission 
there,  also,  is  very  successful  indeed.  Nearly  all  the  chiefs  are  under 
decided  Christian  influence.  There  is  only  one  whom  I  considered  a 
heathen  chief,  and  whom  I  dined  with  at  the  agency  with  Bishop  Whip- 
pie,  other  Indians  being  there.  They  all  adopted  the  habits  of  civiliza 
tion  at  the  table,  and  behaved  as  other  civilized  men.  A  few  of  the 
young  men  we  have  sent  down  to  Nebraska  College  for  education. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  year  the  principal  of  that  college  gave  them 
the  highest  premium  of  any  there,  especially  for  biblical  learning. 
They  had  certificates  of  the  highest  character.  When  they  returned, 
the  influence  of  one  of  them  was  so  great,  that  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
tribe,  feeling  that  it  was  his  only  hope,  and  the  hope  of  his  people, 
has  adopted  civilized  life,  has  become  a  Christian  man,  came  to  live 
in  the  mission-house  for  awhile,  and  was  entirely  willing  to  begin  by 
sweeping,  dusting,  splitting  wood,  &c.,  as  white  people  do.  He  is  now  at 
the  college,  has  been  there  about  two  mouths,  and  we  have  most  excellent 
<  accounts  of  him.  This  is  the  first  time  we  have  had  a  chief  who  has 
been  willing  to  go  away  from  his  tribe  for  the  purpose  of  being  educated. 
Several  of  the  other  chiefs  are  Christian  men,  and  exert  a  powerful 
influence  over  the  others.  They  keep  them  from  following  their  roving- 
habits,  from  hunting  and  visiting  their  neighbors,  after  the  annuity 
goods  are  distributed  in  the  fall;  i  ersuade  them  to  get  their  crops  in, 
and  generally  benefit  their  condition. 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.         19 

Ordinarily,  these  Indians  take  a  tramp  up  the  river,  and  communi 
cate  to  the  principal  tribes  what  advantages  they  have  had  from  the 
presentation  of  the  annuities,  those  tribes  in  turn  coming  down  and  vis 
iting-  them.  A  large  delegation  came  on  my  second  visit,  and  they  were 
much  delighted.  One  of  these  wild  men  came  down,  said  his  nephew 
had  been  very  ill  indeed,  and  that  the  ladies  had  been  extremely  kind  to 
him  ;  so  that  he  thought  Christianity  was  "  good  medicine,'7  and  he  was 
going  to  recommend  it  to  his  people.  One  of  the  set,  an  extremely  wild 
fellow,  would  shake  hands  with  none  of  us,  but  satin  the  corner  as  sullenly 
as  possible.  He  was  afraid  of  losing  caste  with  his  people,  for  you 
must  understand  that  the  wild  Indians,  the  moment  they  adopt  civilized 
life,  lose  caste  with  the  others,  and  some  men,  like  Spotted  Tail;  are  adroit 
enough  to  keep  up  that  illusion  among  their  tribes.  When  Spotted 
Tail  was  here  in  Washington,  new  suits  of  clothing  were  given  to  almost 
all  his  party.  When  going  down  to  visit  the  President,  he  told  the 
men  to  put  on  their  new  suits.  They  asked  him  if  he  was  going  to  put 
his  on.  He  said  "That  is  no  business  of  yours.7'  Well,  these  others 
draped  themselves  like  gentlemen,  in  black,  but  he  went  in  a  red  blanket. 
And  Spotted  Tail  would  go  back  and  say  that  he  did  not  take  off  his 
blanket.  It  was  to  obtain  an  influence  with  the  other  men.  You  can 
hardly  understand  that,  when  they  get  back,  they  lose  caste. 

We  see  everything  to  encourage  us  if  we  persevere — if  the  Govern 
ment  can  remain  stable,  and  sus:ain  us  in  our  operations.  Our 
church,  since  we  were  here  last,  must  have  spent  some  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  dollars,  and  yet  that  is  very  little  in  comparison  to  what  we 
see  ought  to  be  done.  The  schools  have  been  very  successful. 

The  other  reservation  is  juston  the  very  border  of  the  great  Sioux  terri 
tory.  It  is  a  sin  all  tribe  of  thoroughly  heathen  people,  and  until  quite  lately 
had  been  utterly  neglected.  We  have  had  a  missionary  there  for  more 
than  a  year  now,  and  have  three  ladies.  I  have  visited  them  this  season. 
The  change  wrought  has  been  marvelous.  Many  of  them  dress  like 
civilized  beings,  and  are  manifesting  a  very  great  disposition  for  civili 
zation.  We  also  endeavor,  through  the  aid  of  the  ladies,  to  Christianize 
and  civilize  the  women.  We  not  only  have  our  schools  and  Sunday- 
schools,  but  our  mothers'  meetings,  where  the  women  are  taught  to  cut 
out  and  n't  work.  They  appear  to  manifest  great  aptitude  for  it,  and  a 
great  desire  to  improve.  The  little  accounts  which  are  written  of  these 
meetings,  showing  how  pleased  the  women  were  when  they  first  fitted  a 
dress  for  their  children,  and  that  they  manifested  in  other  ways  their 
delight  at  improvement  in  housekeeping,  are  deeply  interesting.  1  will 
not,  however,  detain  you  on  that  point. 

The  next  mission  is  that  of  the  Santee ;  and  as  Bishop  Whipple  is 
here,  I  will  ask  him  to  add  a  word  or  two,  because  I  induced  him  to  go 
there  with  me  last  October.  He  saw  these  creatures  in  Minnesota, 
where  they  were  wild  men,  and  I  thought  I  would  like  to  have  him  look 
at  them  in  their  present  condition,  so  that  he  could  see  the  improvement 
which  had  been  made  in  them  since  they  had  left  Minnesota. 

Bishop  WHIPPLE.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  desire  to  detain  you  but 
a  very  few  moments;  but  there  are  two  or  three  matters  which  I  am 
very  desirous  to  bring  before  your  Board. 

In  the  first  place,  I  would  saj-  that  my  wildest  dream  of  what  might 
be  done  for  the  Indians  has  been  accomplished.  I  had  never  con 
ceived  in  my  heart  that  a  work  could  be  done  for  the  Indians  equal  to 
that  which  has  been  done  within  the  last  ten  years,  and  more  especially 
during  the  last  four  years  in  which  we  have  had  the  co-operation  of  a 
Christian  Government.  I  have  taken  pains  to  trace  the  history  of  the 


20  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

breaking  np  of  the  Indian  missions  in  the  past,  and  I  could  bring  the 
evidence,  in  very  many  instances,  of  missions  which  have  been  broken 
np,  through  the  influence  of  parties  who  represented  the  American  Gov 
ernment  directly  or  indirectly ;  and  I  am  very  sorry  to  say  that,  when 
I  first  visited  these  Indians  of  Minnesota,  in  two  or  three  instances  I  had 
individuals  ask  me  whether  the  Jesus  that  I  had  told  them  about  was 
the  Jesus  that  my  white  brothers  spoke  to  when  they  were  angry  and 
drunk,  at  the  agency ;  and  when  I  urged  the  sanctity  of  Christian 
marriage  invariably  the  old  chiefs  told  me  in  private,  that  the 
penalty  for  violation  of  the  seventh  commandment  was  that  the 
woman's  nose  should  be  bitten  off;  that  was  the  penalty  of  their 
fathers,  and  all  the  corruption  and  degradation  had  come  from  men 
of  the  white  race.  They  very  often  said  to  me,  "  We  have  never 
made  fire-water.  We  do  not  know  how  to  make  it.  It  is  your  white 
brothers;  they  wrho  worship  the  Great  Spirit;  they  have  brought  this 
here.  Go  back  and  tell  that  story  to  your  brothers." 

In  every  single  instance  where  crime  has  dragged  this  poor  and 
wretched  people  down  to  death  and  degradation,  it  could  be  at  once 
laid  at  the  door  of  our  own  white  race. 

But  there  were  two  or  three  things  that  encouraged  me.  The  first 
was,  that  if  this  was  a  dying  race  there  was  but  one  question  :  Are  they 
to  live  beyond  the  grave1?  And  the  very  fact  that  they  were  a  perish 
ing  race  was  but  the  very  reason  why  a  Christian  movement  should  be 
made  in  earnest  to  try  and  bring  to  them  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  of 
••Christ;  and  another  fact  was  this,  that  if  they  were  a  heathen  people, 
there  were  no  such  awful  revelations  to  impart  among  them  as  there 
were  in  heathen  civilization  to  whom  the  gospel  was  carried  by  the  apos 
tles.  There  are  no  such  records  in  the  Indian  country  as  you  can  find  in 
Pompeii  and  Herculaneum.  I  found  that  everywhere,  the  moment  they 
•w ere  impressed  with  the  fact  that  your  errand  was  one  of  mercy  and 

•  love,  they  gave  you  their  respect  and  reverence;  and  they  have  always 
'been  true  to  their  plighted  faith.     I  say  now,  that  as  far  as  my  own  con 
viction  goes,  there  is  not  a  Christian  body  in  the  United  States  which 

•  can  show  such  fruits  and  rewards  for  Christian  labor  as  can  be  shown 
in  the  Indian  missions  among  the  people  of  the  United  States.     It  is 
true  of  our  own  tyody,  and  I  believe  it  is  true  of  all  others,  and  it  has 

.seemed  to  me,  at  times,  as  if  God  had  so  richly  rewarded  us,  that  we 
might  have  the  courage  and  bravery  to  endeavor  to  make  atonement  for 
that  awful  record  which  we  have  paid  for  in  such  terrible  histories  of 
massacre  and  blood. 

There  are  two  or  three  particular  matters  that  I  would  like  to  bring 
:  before  you. 

The  first  is,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  moment  the  Government 
comes  in  con-tact  with  the  heathen  people,  our  first  efforts  should 
be  to  give  to  this  movement  individuality.  They  are  the  mere  vassals, 
the  bondmen  of  wandering  chiefs,  and  so  long  as  the  Government 
i makes  its  distribution  through  them,  the  Indians  must  of  neces 
sity  be  in  subserviency  to  those  agents.  You  can  have  no  true  inde 
pendence  or  freedom  until  you  give  that  man  his  position  as  a  person 
in  the  eye  of  the  Government,  until  you  give  him  an  individuality. 

The  second  point  is,  we  must  have  law.  There  is  no  use  talking  about 
that  question.  Our  missions  will  be  broken  up,  our  efforts  blasted,  all 
our  work  destroyed,  unless  these  people  shall  be  recognized  as  the  sub 
jects  of  law,  and  law  be  given  to  them ;  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  in 
what  form,  but  there  are  some  very  simple  forms  in  which  it  might  be 
done.  The.  agent  may  be  the  stipendiary  magistrate  as  in  the  Canadas. 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        21 

He  may  have  the  power  to  administer  law.  Remember  this,  reserva 
tions  are  not  subject  to  the  law  of  State  governments.  It  is  United 
States  property,  and  the  Government  holds  it  in  trust  for  the  Indians. 
Some  officer  must  be  there  representing  the  United  States  Government. 
If  the  Government  is  not  prepared  to  give  us  a  United  States  judge,  re 
siding  in  the  Indian  country, it  seems  to  me  we  may  ask  that  the  agent 
may  be  clothed  with  the  functions  of  a  stipendiary  magistrate,  and  that 
either  the  chief  or  some  worthy  Indian  men,  shall  be  sworn  in  as 
constables,  or  be  made  deputy  United  States  marshals.  As  I  said  be 
fore,  the  absence  of  law  in  the  Indian  country  demoralizes  the  Indians; 
and  it  gives  to  every  white  man  contiguous  to  the  reservation,  the  feel 
ing  that  they  are  mere  vermin,  who  can  be  exterminated  at  will;  that 
the  Government  does  not  regard  them  as  worthy  of  consideration. 

Another  point  with  reference  to  the  employes.  The  remark  has  been 
made  by  one  or  two  gentlemen,  that  we  are  attempting  to  undo  the 
wrongs  of  two  hundred  years.  There  is  not  a  single  body  of  Indians  in 
this  country,  if  their  history  was  known,  whom  we  have  not  wronged.  If 
anyone  of  you  will  go  through  the  records  and  find  out  how  often  faith  has 
been  violated,  you  will  be  perfectly  appalled,  and  you  will  wonder  how 
people  who  believe  in  a  God,  have  dared  to  breast  His  anger  and  indigna 
tion  as  we  have  done.  The  attempt  to  atone  this  wrong  is  an  expensive 
business  ;  there  is  no  question  about  that.  Those  Indians  to  whom  my 
friend  Mr.  Welch  referred,  those  Cheyenne  chiefs  up  at  that  agency, 
have  had  their  relatives  and  kindred  murdered  in  the  Chevington  mas 
sacre,  of  which  General  Sherman,  when  he  wrote  the  report,  simply  said 
it  would  have  disgraced  any  savage  tribe  in  the  interior  of  Africa, 
and  the  testimony  in  regard  to  which  was  so  vile,  that  Congress  sup 
pressed  it.  It  is  there  in  the  records  of  the  Department,  and  I  venture 
to  say  that  your  cheek  will  grow  pale,  as  it  never  grew  before,  if  you  will 
take  the  trouble  to  read  it. 

To  show  you  what  kindness  will  do  after  long  effort,  I  will  relate  a 
single  instance.  One  of  these  very  men  who  has  maintained  this  posi 
tion  of  hostility  for  months,  was  evidently  watching  the  agent  very 
closely  to  see  whether  he  was  a  man  who  spoke  the  truth.  At  last 
the  agent  heard  that  that  man's  son  was  dying  of  pneumonia.  He  knew 
it  was  the  custom  of  these  Indians  to  give  away  everything  they  had 
whenever  they  lost  a  near  friend;  and  this  Indian  gave*  away  his  blanket, 
gun,  dogs,  everything  that  he  had,  and  scarified  his  body  until  he  bled 
from  every  pore,  and  then  sat  down  at  the  side  of  his  dead  sou.  The 
agent  sent  him  a  coffin,  a  blanket,  and  a  kind  message,  and  said  to  the 
one  who  carried  the  message,  "Give  my  message  to  him  and  tell  him 
how  sad  I  am  for  him,  and  that  I  have  sent  him  this  coffin  that  lie  might 
bury  his  son.  •  tlis  white  brother  pities  him.  If  he  can  help  him  he  will 
be  glad  to  do  so."  The  Indian  sat  silent  for  two  hours,  but  at  last  arose 
and  said  "The  white  man  has  made  my  heart  like  a  woman's.  I  shall 
bury  my  dead  son  beside  his  door.  lam  going  to  live  beside  the  agency, 
and  I  will  be  the  white  man's  friend  forever."  It  is  a  simple  instance  to 
illustrate  what  kindness  will  do.  Now,  as  I  said  before, it  is  very  expen 
sive  for  us  to  attempt  to  atone  for  these  wrongs:  and  here  we  meet  with 
a  practical  difficulty  to  this  new  policy.  Some  gentleman  said,  very 
truly,  that  the  head  of  the  Government  and  the  head  of  the  Indians 
were  on  the  interpreter's  shoulders,  and  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  that  I 
have  known  many  instances  of  transactions  where  both  parties  were 
in  entire  ignorance,  and  where  the  whole  negotiations  had  been  car 
ried  on  in  the  interest  of  certain  traders.  Now  the  Government  wishes 
us  to  pay  at  these  agencies,  $400  for  an  interpreter,  and  that  is  all.  So 


22  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

a  Christum  blacksmith  and  a  Christian  carpenter  can  have  four  or  five 
hitndred  dollars  a  year.  What  are  we  to  do?  I  know  the  gentleman 
said,  and  I  respect  the  words  very  much  of  my  brother  who  made  the 
remark,  that  an  agent  ought  to  go  with  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  I  only 
icish  we  could  find  the  men.  But  I  doubt  whether  you  can  find  intelligent, 
clear-headed,  business  men ;  men  who  are  in  the  depths  of  their  heart 
philanthropists;  men  fitted  to  guide  a  heathen  people  out  of  darkness 
into  civilization,  unless  you  can  guarantee  at  least  that  these  men  shall 
have  a  support  for  themselves  and  their  families. 

But  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  I  think  it  is  best  for  us  to  ask  the 
Government  to  supplement  these  salaries  and  increase  them.  I  believe 
there  is  to  be  a  very  fierce  conflict.  The  Indian  ring  are  not  killed. 
The  influences  that  have  been  heretofore  dragging  these  men  down  to 
death  are  •  simply  in  abeyance.  They  are  merely  waiting  for  us  to  lose 
heart,  and  you  will  find  that  the  whole  great  Indian  ring  will  at  once  re 
assert  its  force.  Now.  as  so  much  must  be  asked  for,  and  we  must  de 
mand  money  to  give  these  men  food  and  clothing,  and  seed  and  cattle, 
>it  seems  to  me — and  I  say  it  to  our  own  religious  bodies,  for  I  have  no 
right  to  say  it  to  others — I  believe,  as  Christian  men,  it  is  the  duty  of 
our  church  to  say  to  any  man  that  goes  there,  that  we  will  take  care  of 
him.  If  the  Government  is  willing  to  pay  four  hundred  dollars  for  a 
Christian  blacksmith,  and  it  takes  a  thousand  dollars,  I  do  not  know 
any  reason  why  we,  as  Christian  men,  should  not  give  the  rest.  My 
own  mind  is  very  clear  on  another  matter.  I  believe  that  the  spiritual 
side  of  the  work  for  the  Indians  will  be  utterly  destroyed  with  any  re 
ligious  body  which  takes  the  funds  for  civilization  and  uses  them  in  con 
nection  with  this  Christian  work.  They  may  use  them  for  schools,  or  in 
any  way  that  shall  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  ;  but  when  you  take 
this  money  and  use  it  for  the  support  of  your  ministry,  I  believe  the  In 
dians  will  at  once  set  these  clergymen  down  in  this  category,  and  say : 
u  You  come,  as  all  other  white  men,  to  live  upon  our  money.  That  is 
your  only  idea."  I  think,  therefore,  it  is  wise  to  keep  these  two  lines  of 
work  entirely  separate  and  distinct.  Whatever  money  the  Government 
gives  for  their  civilization,  give  it  to  them,  and  see  that  it  is  expended, 
and  expended  faithfully  ;  and  if  we  haveother  work,  let  us,  as  Christian 
men,  give  for  it  ourselves,  because  we  are  giving  it  for  our  love  of  Him 
who  is  the  friend  of  the  helpless. 

One  word  with  .reference  to  the  titles  My  friend  Mr.  King,  of  New 
York,  said  that  these  men  were  not  citizens.  I  do  not  mean  to  lay  any 
charges  against  the  Government,  but  it  does  seem  to  me  we  have  been 
playing ''•  hide  and-go-seek"  here.  When  it  is  for  our  convenience  to 
recognize  these  heathen  men  as  an  independent  nation,  when  we  desire 
to  purchase  their  lands,  we  recognize  them  as  such  and  make  a  bar 
gain  with  them  as  an  independent  nation ;  we  pledge  the  faith  of 
the  Government  to  them  as  an  independent  people;  and  our  Senate, 
as  the  treaty-making  power,  makes  a  treaty  ;  the  President  ratifies 
it. ;  and  in  that  treaty  we  specify  that  every  Indian  shall  receive  a 
good  and  sufficient  title  to  eighty  acres  of  land  when  he  has  complied 
with  certain  conditions.  And  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
lias  recognized  that  the  Indian  has  a  possessory  right  to  the  soil,  and  a. 
possessory  right  that  must  be  extinguished  in  some  way.  That  has 
been  decided  several  times.  But  right  here  comes  the  question  when 
is  the  Government  to  carry  out  this  policy.  The  Indian  is  given  a  cer 
tain  certificate.  I  believe  it  is  done  in  good  faith.  But  the  Indians  are 
advised,  by  those  who  are  no  friends  to  this  policy,  that  that  title  is  not 
a  good  title,  and  the  Indians  have  no  faith  in  Government  papers.  I 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  23 

have  a  body  of  Indians  in  Minnesota,  friends  of  mine,  who  received  the 
thanks  of  the  Department  because  they  came  down  in  a  body  and  of 
lered  their  services  to  a  fort,  in  the  time  of  the  massacre,  and  saved  that 
northern  border  from  desolation.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  took 
pains  to  pay  a  visit  to  them  at  that  time,  and  returned  his  thanks  to 
them.  In  three  separate  treaties  there  is  a  clause  that,  on  account  of 
their  signal  good  behavior,  they  shall  not  be  removed  so  long  as  they  re 
main  the  friends  of  the  whites.  For  five  years  all  the  pressure  "it-hat, 
could  be  brought  has  been  brought  to  compel  these  Indians  to  go;  and 
the  agent  of  the  Indians  will  tell  you  that  that  is  the  case  now — that 
they  are  mere  tenants  at  will,  and  the  Government  says  they  nuist  be 
removed.  This  is  the  feeling  in  the  Indian  country. 

I  simply  call  attention  to  these  three  facts:  In  the  first  place,  you 
must  recognize  individuality.  A  man  never  is  a  man  until  he  has 
something  he  can  call  a  home.  You  cannot  make  a  Christian  home  out 
of  an  Indian  tepe.  Secondly,  he  must  have  law  and  protection;  and, 
thirdly,  we  are  bound  to  carry  out  what  we  promised  to  give  him — a 
title  to  the  soil. 

Mr.  KiNGr.  I  agree  with  the  bishop,  and  that  is  what  I  inquired 
about — how  title  was  to  be  secured. 

Kev.  S.  B.  TREAT.  Mr.  Chairman,  wre  have  but  one  agency  under 
our  care — the  one  referred  to  by  Mr.  Welch.  I  have  endeavored  to 
keep  my  eye  upon  it  during  the  year,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  duties 
of  the  agent  have  been  wrell  performed.  His  influence  there  is  good, 
and  the  condition  of  these  Indians  is  exceedingly  hopeful.  We 
have,  in  connection  with  that  reservation  at  Lake  Traverse,  and  with 
our  other  stations,  seven  churches,  five  hundred  and  sixty  communi 
cants,  six  ordained  Indians,  four  licensed  preachers,  and  other  helpers 
that  I  need  not  mention.  Our  plan  is  to  work  out  from  the  stitions, 
which  we  occupy,  among  other  tribes  not  yet  reached.  We  have  visited 
the  Santee  agency  during  the  year,  as  others  have  done,  and  I  most 
fully  confirm  the  statements  which  have  been  made  in  regard  to  it. 

One  fact  has  not  been  brought  out  distinctly,  or,  at  least,  not  very 
distinctly,  and  that  is,  that  these  Indians  of  the  Santee  agency  were 
almost  all  of  them,  in  1862,  absolute  pagans.  The  head  men  were  in 
volved  in  that  terrible  massacre;  and  yet,  when  I  was  there,  1  saw 
those  connected  with  our  mission,  particularly  the  men,  dressed  as  we 
are;  the  women  dressed  like  white  women,  except  that  they  did  not 
seem  to  understand  perfectly  the  fashions.  They  wTere  intelligent, 
and  I  spoke  to  a  large  meeting  of  them.  They  were  well  fitted  for 
work,  and  everything  about  them  seemed  to  be  exceedingly  hopeful. 
We.  are  establishing  an  industrial  school  therefor  girls  and  women,  and 
we  hope  that  much  good  may  be  accomplished  by  it.  Industrial  in 
struction  is  given  on  the  reservation.  Last  year,  the  chairman  will  re- 
member,  I  made  a  statement  in  regard  to  the  Indians  at  Pawnee 
drove.  They  went  out  as  a  colony  from  the  Santee  agency ;  broke 
loose  from  their  tribe,  and  gave  up  all  their  tribal  advantages.  They 
had  not  money  enough,  I  suppose,  to  pay  the  office-fees  for  their  titles. 
They  were  without  implements  of  agriculture.  They  had  almost  nothing 
at  all.  They  have  received  no  aid  from  the  United  States  Government, 
and  no  assistance,  of  course,  from  other  tribes ;  and  yet  I  have  this 
statement  in  my  hand  to  show  what  they  have  been  doing.  There  are 
among  them  seventy-seven  men,  one  hundred  and  three  women,  seventy- 
six  children,  making  in  all  two  hundred  and  fifty-six.  They  have  fifty- 
eight  claims— the  fees  all  paid  for.  They  have  built  fifty-three  log- 
houses  themselves,  and  many  stables ;  and,  during  the  past  year,  they 


24  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

have  raised  twenty-nine  hundred  bushels  of  corn,  twenty-two  hundred 
bushels  of  potatoes,  and  have  cut  two  hundred  and  eighty  tons  of  hay 
by  themselves,  without  help  from  the  United  States  Government,  or 
from  the  people  of  their  tribe.  This,  to  me,  is  one  of  the  most  encour 
aging  facts  which  we  have  had  in  regard  to  the  Indians,  and  I  will  say 
that  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  their  capacity  for  civilization.  I  have  not 
the  least  doubt  of  it.  I  think,  on  the  whole,  as  compared  with  other 
races,  they  may  be  expected  to  receive  civilization  as  soon  as  others,  on 
an  average ;  but  then  I  do  beg  leave  to  say,  after  having  been  con 
nected  twenty-live  years  with  this  Indian  work,  that  the  strong  lever  and 
the  long  lever  is  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Schools  are  useful — they  are  indis 
pensable;  but  first  the  gospel,  and  let  the  schools  come  to  complete 
the  work  which  the  gospel  undertakes. 

I  have  been  troubledfor  a  great  many  years  with  this  matter  of  lawless 
ness.  Before  the  day  of  Bishop  Wbipple  among  the  Minnesota  In 
dians,  I  discussed  the  matter  with  our  missionaries.  It  seemed  to  be 
then,  as  it  has  seemed  since,  one  of  the  great  obstacles — this  perfect 
lawlessness  of  the  Indians  among  themselves  ;  and  our  Government,  re 
garding  them  as  wards — doing  nothing  at  all  to  arrest  these  disturb 
ances. 

Dr.  FERRIS.  We  have  five  agencies,  all  in  Arizona.  The  first  is  that 
of  the  Pimos  and  Maricopas,  which  contains  from  four  to  six  thousand 
Indians.  These  statistics  as  to  population  are  estimated.  There  are  no 
perfectly  trustworthy  returns  as  to  the  number  of  Indians  upon  these 
reservations.  We  have  the  Colorado  River  reservation,  which  has  been 
estimated  at  from  three  to  five  thousand  Indians.  There  are  the  Mo- 
have  Apaches,  and  some  two  or  three  smaller  bodies  of  men  whose 
names  I  cannot  give  without  having  a  report  of  the  Indian  commission. 
The  Gamp  Verde  reservation  has  upon  it  somewhere  from  one  to  two 
thousand  Apaches,  and  the  Gamp  Grant  reservation  has  about  twelve 
hundred  Apaches.  Gamp  Apache  has  upon  it  at  present  about  eighteen 
hundred  Apaches.  The  Pimos  and  Maricopas  have  two  schools.  These 
schools  have  been  organized  since  we  were  here  a  year  ago.  The  at 
tendance  is  now  more  regular  than  it  was  a  year  ago.  I  looked  over 
the  record  of  last  year,  and  found  that  the  attendance  ran  from  noth 
ing  to  eighty.  There  were  some  two  or  three  or  four  days  during  the 
year,  of  regular  school-days  when  there  were  no  children  present,  either 
boys  or  girls.  Then  again  the  attendance  has  been  as  high  as  eighty.  The 
attendance  during  the  latter  part  of  the  year  has  been  very  much  more 
regular  than  it  was  at  the  beginning,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more 
steady.  These  Pimos  and  Maricopas  have  been  an  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  people ;  that  is,  manufacturing  some  articles  for  their 
own  use,  for  some  time,  and  they  have  heeu  a  settled  people,  attached 
to  the  reservation,  and  attached  to  the  lands  they  were  cultivating. 
But  they  are  becoming  unsettled  and  are  being  driven  into  habits  some 
what  nomadic,  for  this  reason.  They  are  on  the  Glla  River,  and  the 
whites  have  settled  upon  the  forks  of  the  river  above  them,  and  almost 
entirely  cut  off  their  supply  of  water,  so  that  they  are  compelled  to  go 
over  to  the  Salt  River  country  in  order  to  raise  their  crops.  When  they 
got  there,  in  the  Salt  River  country,  the  people  there  thought,  u  O,  we 
can  steal  the  horses  and  cattle  the  Pimos  may  bring  along  with  them  ; 
they  are  outside  of  their  reservation,  and  we  can  do  just  as  we  please;" 
and  they  do  steal  them.  Then  the  Pimos  try  to  reclaim  them  or  they 
try  to  steal  somebody  else's  horses  to  make  up  for  what  they  have  lost ; 
and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  these  Indians,  there  has  been 
trouble  between  them  and  the  whites.  They  have  been  friends  with  the 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        25 

whites,  and  have  boasted  that  there  has  never  been  a  conflict  between 
them  and  the  white  man  in  their  entire  history. 

]S"ow,  if  these  Indians  were  wrhite  men,  if  they  were  citizens  as  we 
are,  there  could  be  a  suit  brought  in  the  proper  court  to  compel  the 
white  men  who  have  settled  on  the  river  above  them,  to  repay  to  them 
whatever  damage  they  have  suffered  from  the  diversion  of  the  water,  or 
to  compel  these  white  men  to  stop  the  wasting  of  the  water  ;  for,  as  I  un 
derstand,  they  have  dug  an  irrigating  canal  from  the  Gila  River,  and 
run  the  water  through  their  lands,  and  afterwards  they  do  not  care 
what  becomes  of  it,  or  which  way  the  water  goes;  the  Indians  get  none 
of  it.  There  is  no  one  but  the  United  States  Government  to  protect 
these  Indians.  They  have  been  placed  on  that  reservation  by  our  ac 
tion,  and  we  are  bound  to  look  after  them.  If  the  bread  is  taken  out  of 
their  mouths,  if  the  supply  of  water  is  cut  away  from  them,  then  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  ought  to  see  that  they  are  put 
somewhere  else  where  they  can  cultivate  the  soil,  and  where  there  is  a 
supply  of  water ;  or  else  they  ought  to  buy  out  these  white  settlers,  or 
make  them  change  their  location,  in  order  that  these  Indians  may  be 
able  to  cultivate  their  lands.  The  Pimos  and  Maricopas  are  running 
down  now,  day  after  day,  under  these  influences.  I  suppose  there  was 
not  a  more  promising  h'eld  among  the  Indians  in  all  the  United  States 
than  in  these  two  tribes,  but  it  is  becoming  a  very  difficult  one,  simply 
from  the  action  of  the  whites,  who  show  not  the  slighest  regard  for  the 
rights,  or  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights,  of  these  Indians.  What 
ever  is  necessary  to  be  done  to  move  the  Pimos  and  Maricopas,  either  to 
some  location  in  Arizona  or  to  the  Indian  Territory,  they  are  very  will 
ing  should  be  done,  and  they  are  all  ready  to  go  to  the  Indian  Territory, 
and  would  like  to  go.  They  wish  to  avoid  a  conflict  if  it  is  possible, 
and  if  they  could  be  transferred  to  the  Indian  Territory  it  would  please 
the  chiefs  of  these  tribes. 

On  the  Colorado  River  agency  one  school  has  been  begun  recently, 
but  there  is  as  yet  no  report  of  any  consequence  from  it.  The  Indians 
there  were  very  indolent  and  very  shiftless.  They  had  been  drawing 
their  support  almost  entirely  from  the  Government,  and  one.  of  the  h'rst 
things  to  be  done  with  them  was  to  induce  them  to  earn  their  own 
living.  They  were,  I  suppose,  about  as  indolent  a  body  of  Indians  as 
could  be  found  in  the  country,  perfectly  peaceful,  perfectly  good-na 
tured,  and  just  as  lazy  and  indisposed  to  do  anything  for  themselves  as 
they  were  peaceful.  But  at  last,  we  have  the  report  from  Dr.  Tonner, 
the  very  excellent  agent  stationed  there,  that  they  are  now  at  work. 
An  irrigating  canal  has  been  dug  that  supplies  them  with  water  ;  and 
he  says  that  even  the  chiefs  come  to  him  and  ask  him  to  go  off  in  this 
direction  and  in  that,  to  see  what  they  have  been  doing  with  their  own 
hands.  We  are  happy  to  report  that  the  Indians  of  the  Colorado  Kiver 
agency  are  beginning  to  earn  their  own  support.  The  Apaches  upon 
Camp  Verde  have  been  chastised  by  the  United  States  troops,  I  believe, 
because  they  were  accused  of  having  a  part  in  the  Weckenburg  stage 
massacre. 

General  HOWARD.    That  was  at  Date  Creek. 

Dr.  FERRIS.  They  have  got  the  two  together,  then.  The  Indians 
were  driven  from  the  reservation  by  this  chastisement,  but  we  have  re 
ceived  letters  now,  within  the  last  "two  weeks,  stating  that,  they  are  re 
turning.  The  agent  wrote  at  one  time  that  he  was  afraid  they  never 
would  come  back.  I  think  it  is  a  very  doubtful  thing,  from  what  I  have 
seen  about  it,  whether  they  had  any  part  whatsoever  in  that  stage  mas 
sacre.  I  understood  that  the  clothing  of  the  woman  in  that  stage  was 


26  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

foil  ml  in  the  possession  of  whites  and  Americans  off  in  another  direc 
tion,  and  I  think  that  was  clear  and  distinct  testimony  at  the  time ; 
and  why  it  happens  that  these  persons  are  to  be  chastised  for  that  stage 
massacre  I  cannot  understand.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  they 
have  been  guilty  of  a  great  deal  of  villainy,  and  perhaps  the  punish 
ment  which  has  been  administered  to  them  has  been  just,  and  may  be 
salutary.  They  have,  however,  been  off  the  reservation  pretty  much 
the  whole  year,  and  the  agent  has  been  waiting  for  them  to  return. 

In  regard  to  the  Camp  Grant  agency,  we  have  to  report  that  the 
agent  whom  we  had  sent  out  there  has  .been  removed.  He  was  a  gen 
tleman  very  highly  recommended  to  us,  and  as  far  as  we  know  is  an 
excellent  man,  and  one  who  has  maintained  a  consistent  Christian  char 
acter  in  frontier  life  in  Wyoming  Territory,  and  who  had  experi 
ence  in  dealing  writh  Indians ;  but,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  he  was  im 
prudent.  Either  by  his  orders  or  by  the  orders  of  a  squad  of  soldiers 
who  were  with  him,  a  party  of  Indians  were  fired  upon  who  had  among 
them  some  Indians  who  ought  to  have  been  arrested.  That  party  con 
sisted,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of  captains  of  these  Apaches.  It  de- 
frtroye.l  the  confidence  of  the  Indians  at  Camp  Grant  in  this  agent. 
When  their  confidence  was  gone  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  be  re 
moved.  We  have  no  question  but  that  it  was  perfectly  right  to  re 
move  Mr.  Jacobs  from  Camp  Grant,  but  whether  he  was  to  blame  for 
the  loss  of  confidence  or  for  what  was  done,  or  whether  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  squad  of  soldiers  was  to  blame,  we  have  no  knowledge. 
We  have  just  sent  out  a  new  man  to  Camp  Grant  who,  we  hope,  will  do 
well.  He  has  this  great  advantage,  that  he  is  the  friend  of  Lieutenant 
Whitman,  whom  the  Apaches  at  Camp  Grant  have  much  confidence  in, 
and  he  will  take  to  them  a  letter  from  Lieutenant  Whitman  recom 
mending  him.  This  Camp  Grant  reservation  is  very  unhealthy.  The 
Indians  are  dying  off,  and  it  is  a  place  where  white  men  say  they 
cannot  remain  unless  they  are  soaked  with  whiskey  to  keep  off  fever 
and  ague.  I  expect  myself  that  a  white  man  cannot  remain  for  any 
length  of  time  without  using  some  antidote  for  the  fever.  These  Apaches 
at  Camp  Grant,  we  think,  ought  to  be  removed.  They  can  be  removed 
to  the  White  Mountain  reservation,  which  is  large  enough  to  accom 
modate  all  the  Apaches  in  Arizona.  The  Camp  Apache  reservation 
has  just  received  an  agent.  We  have  been  trying  to  send  out  a  proper  man. 
It  is  a  large  reservation,  and  the  intention  of  the  Government  is  to  gather 
all  the  Apaches  in  the  Territory  on  that  location  in  the  course  of  time, 
so  that  we  have  been  rather  slow  about  selecting  a  man.  We  wished 
to  get  as  good  a  man  as  we  could,  as  he  was  likely  to  have  a 
very  large  charge  after  a  while,  and  I  would  say  a  little  in  regard  to 
that  directly.  A  good  man  has  just  reached  that  field,  and  our  work 
there  may  be  regarded  as  new,  begun  within  the  last  month  or  two. 
There  have  been  two  occurrences  in  connection  with  our  part  of  this 
work  during  the  past  year  that  it  would  be  proper  to  notice.  In  the 
first  place,  a  United  States  commissioner  has  been  sent  out  to  the  Ter 
ritory,  General  Howard,  accompanied  by  some  gentlemen,  and  we  have 
to  report  that  this  commission  has  been  attended  with  very  happy  re 
sults.  It  has  proved  to  be  an  excellent  way  of  managing  these  diffi 
culties  that  occur  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites.  General  How 
ard's  mission  mado  a  fine  impression  upon  the  Apaches,  as  we  know, 
and  it  has  made  a  very  considerable  impression  upon  the  whites  of 
Arizona ;  though,  of  course,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  abuse  heaped  upon 
the  General's  head  by  the  papers  of  Arizona,  because  he  averted  an  In 
dian  war.  It  is  proper,  I  suppose,  to  notice  here  that  there  was  every 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  27 

prospect  of  a  general  Indian  war  in  Arizona  Territory.  That  lias  been 
prevented,  and  I  suppose  that  there  has  been  saved  to  the  United  States 
Government  by  this  mission,  and  by  the  Christian  agents  on  the  ground, 
somewhere  from  five  to  ten  millions  of  dollars  this  last  year  by 
averting  an  Indian  war  in  Arizona.  There  has  probably  been  almost 
enough  of  money  saved  in  Arizona  to  meet  all  the  Indian  appropria 
tions;  for  war  there  would  have  been  very  expensive.  The  transpor 
tation  is  exceedingly  long,  and  I  presume  if  General  Howard  had  not 
gone  there,  and  if  there  had  not  been  agents  of  the  character  of  the 
men  who  were  on  the  spot,  there  would  have  been  a  tierce  war  in  that 
Territory,  which  would  have  cost  this  Government,  before  it  was  set 
tled,  certainly  somewhere  near  ten  millions  of  dollars,  and  perhaps 
double  that.  And  that  is  an  item  worth  regarding  here  to-day,  as  there 
lias  been  something  said  about  expenses.  I  presume  the  money  has  all 
been  saved,  not  by  our  denomination,  but  by  this  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment  this  hist  year  in  Arizona.  The  chiefs  of  the  Apaches  and  some 
other  tribes  were  brought  here  to  the  East  by  General  Howard,  and  that 
has  proved  a  fine  matter  in  every  respect.  It  has  had  an  excellent  effect 
on  the  Indians.  It  has  had  an  excellent  effect  upon  gentlemen  here  in 
the  East.  These  Indians  met  with  our  board,  and  with  some  prominent 
gentlemen  of  our  church,  such  as  we  could  get  together  at  that  time  of  the 
year,  it  being  in  the  very  hot  weather  of  last  July.  It  was  the  only  time, 
however,  that  the  Indians  could  be  brought  on,  and  they  were  perfectly  free, 
evidently,  to  say  just  what  they  pleased  and  just  what  they  wanted. 
With  the  exception  of  a  representative  of  a  single  tribe,  I  think 
every  one  of  them  said  most  emphatically,  "  We  desire  schools,  we 
wish  to  have  our  children  taught,  we  wish  to  become  such  people  as 
you  are,  and  we  wish  to  have  peace."  They  were  unanimous  in  that, 
that  they  had  a  great  desire  for  peace,  and  bad  no  more  desire  for  con 
flict  and  bloodshed.  The  effect  upon  gentlemen  here  was  very  excel 
lent.  We  had  these  gentlemen  come  in  our  rooms  in  New  York.  Then 
we  had  a  Sabbath  evening  meeting  in  the  church  on  the  corner  of 
Twenty-first  street  and  Fifth  avenue  which  was  just  as  full  as  it  could 
hold  ;  people  not  only  occupying  all  the  seats  but  standing  up.  More, 
perhaps,  might  have  stood  in  the  aisles  near  the  pulpit,  but  the  aisles 
in  the  rear  of  the  church  were  filled  with  people  standing  up,  and  every 
seat  was  occupied.  A  large  number  of  gentlemen  of  character  and  in 
fluence  were  present  that  night.  The  Indians  spoke,  and  General  How 
ard  made,  of  course,  an  admirable  address.  Now,  I  know  that  there 
were  many  persons  there  who,  by  their  political  affinities,  were  opposed 
to  this  policy — not  exactly  opposed  to  it,  but  who  rather  questioned  it. 
I  know  there  were  gentlemen  present  in  our  rooms  when  we  had  a 
meeting  with  the  Indians  who  were  strong  democrats,  and  who,  while 
they  would  do  nothing  to  oppose  this  policy,  and  nothing  to  hinder  it, 
at  the  same  time  questioned  very  much  as  to  whether  it  was  the  right 
thing  to  do;  and  the  visit  of  the  Indians  to  New  York  I  know 
made  a  good  many  conversions.  One  or  two  of  these  gentlemen 
have  said  to  me  since,  "We  are  ready  to  do  now  anything  that  may  be 
necessary  in  order  to  carry  out  this  policy  of  the  Government."  And 
they  have  said,  too,  that  no  party  could  maintain  its  position  in  this 
country  if  it  discarded  or  broke  up  the  present  policy  in  regard  to 
the  Indians.  I  have  had  that  from  the  mouths  of  gentlemen  who  are 
birthright  democrats,  and  whom  1  suppose  will  remain  democrats  as  long 
as  the  party  continues,  and  some  of  them  have  been  leading  men  in  their 
localities  in  the  party.  The  congregation  in  the  church  on  Fifth  avenue 
we  kept  until  about  10  o'clock  that  hot  night ;  they  remained  after  the 


BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

speeches  were  made,  and  I  suppose  that  more  than  one-half  of  those 
who  were  there  present  came  up  and  shook  hands  with  the  Indians.  It 
had  an  excellent  effect.  We  have  heard  from  it  two  or  three  times  since 
they  went  home,  they  saying  that  these  white  men,  whom  they  under 
stood  were  people  of  the  best  class  in  New  York,  had  taken  the  trouble 
to  .'remain  that  hot  night  after  the  long  exercises,  and  came  up  to  the 
platform  to  shake  hands  with  them.  Its  effect  upon  thelndians  has  not 
yet  been  forgotten.  \ 

Dr.  Lowrie  has  spoken  about  the  pay  of  the  agents.  We  have  had  no 
special  difficulties,  or  no  more  difficulties  than  we  have  usually  en 
countered  in  conducting  Christian  work  in  such  a  world  as  this,  and  have 
no  reason  to  regard  this  work  as  one  of  any  special  difficulty.  But  there 
have  been  two  matters  which  have  been  somewhat  troublesome  to 
manage.  In  the  first  place,  as  to  the  pay  of  the  agents.  Living  is  very 
expensive  in  Arizona,  transportation  is  very  expensive,  and  our  agents 
all  tell  us  that  they  cannot  live  on  their  salary.  We  hope  there  will  be 
something  done,  whatever  may  be  necessary,  so  that  the  agents  may 
be  able  to  draw  certain  stores  from  the  United  States  Army  stores, 
at  the  same  rate  that  Army  officers  draw  them,  and  then  there  will  be 
no  further  difficulty.  That,  1  think,  will  obviate  the  trouble  altogether. 
If  the  agents  can  draw  certain  specified  stores  from  the  Army  depots 
free  of  transportation,  then  I  think  the  salary  will  be  enough.  It  is 
right  also  to  say  that  we  have  had  some  trouble  from  the  fact  that  the 
superintendent,  from  the  entire  want  of  training  in  what  we  may  call 
Christian  benevolent  work,  has  had  no  sympathy  with  our  agents.  He 
is  an  honest  man  as  far  as  we  know.  He  has  bought  for  these  agencies 
all  supplies  that  were  authorized,  and  he  has  bought  them  with  the 
money  that  he  was  authorized  to  spend  for  them,  and  his  administration 
as  far  as  we  know  has  been  perfectly  honest;  but  he  utterly  fails  toco- 
operate  with  our  agents  in  regard  to  education,  or  in  regard  to  Christian 
work ;  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that  he  would  fail.  Well,  one  does  not 
like  to  complain  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  but  we  asked 
the  President  a  year  ago,  and  told  him  just  how  this  thing  was — we 
asked  him  to  make  a  change,  and  he  has  not  done  so.  If  we  could  have 
such  a  superintendent  as  the  brother  who  is  here,  he  wrould  be  worth 
his  weight  in  gold  in  Arizona,  and  he  could  do  an  amount  of  good  that 
is  almost  incalculable. 

Now,  gentlemen,  in  regard  to  this  camp  Apache,  I  said  that  we  had 
been  slow  in  placing  an  agent  there.  We  had  a  capital  man;  a  man 
whose  family  has  grown  up  so  that  they  no  longer  need  his  care ;  a 
gentleman  who,  if  he  went  out  there,  expected  to  expend  more  than  he 
received  ;  an  excellent  business  man  ;  a  man  who  some  years  ago  spent 
two  years  in  Arizona,  who  knows  something  about  the  Territory,  and 
has  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  Indians  there.  When  the  matter 
came  before  him  and  he  understood  who  the  superintendent  was, 
he  said,  "  I  won't  go ;  I  know  that  I  will  get  no  prompt  co-opera 
tion  from  him."  We  held  on  to  him  for  some  time.  I  urged  him  to  go 
and  try  it,  and  not  to  make  this  objection  until  he  had  actually  become 
involved  in  difficulties — until  there  had  been  a  lack  of  co-operation. 
Said  he,  "If  you  will  make  that  agency  independent — take  it  out 
of  the  superintendency — I  will  go,  but  I  will  not  go  and  put  myself 
under  him.  This  gentleman  has  had  absolutely  no  education  in 
regard  to  the  benevolent  wrork  that  we  conduct.  He  knows  nothing 
about  it.  An  application  for  a  teacher  will  lie  in  his  desk  from  three  to 
six  months  before  he  will  send  it  forward.  He  does  not  feel  the  importance 
or  the  necessity  of  this  work,  and  of  prompt  and  earnest  action, and  yet  in 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  2U 

till  other  respects  he  is  a  perfectly  honest  and  trustworthy  man,  and  we 
have  not  a  word  to  say  against  him. 

I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  German  Reformed  Church  at  its  last  synod 
resolved  to  co-operate  with  ns  in  this  work,  which  will  very  much 
strengthen  us,  and  the  agent  whom  we  have  sent  to  Camp  Apache  is  a 
member  of  that  branch  of  the  Reformed  Church.  I  would  like  to  say 
that  this  is  the  first  agent  that  we  have  nominated  from  the  Reformed 
Church.  We  have  taken  every  agent  nominated  so  far  from  other 
denominations,  because  they  seemed  tons  to  be  better  men,  and  because 
the  men  recommended  to  us  had  experience  on  the  frontier  and  ex 
perience  with  the  Indians,  and  had  maintained  consistent  characters 
on  the  frontier. 

The  Arizona  whites  are  very  bitter,  the  most  of  them,  against  the 
Indians.  But  there  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  in  extenuation  of  their  feel 
ing.  Our  Roman  Catholic  friends  have  a  few  churches  in  Arizona,  but 
beside  those  there  are  none.  There  are  no  Protestant  churches  in  the 
entire  Territory,  as  I  understand,  and  except  what  is  done  by  the  Roman 
Catholics  there  is  no  preaching — I  mean  except  that  which  is  done  by 
the  Episcopal  chapels  at  Preseott. 

General  HOWARD.  The  Methodists  have  a  preacher  at  Phrenix,  in  the 
valley. 

A  MEMBER.  There  is  another.  Mr.  Wheeler  has  just  gone  there.  We 
had  letters  from  him  about  a  week  ago  announcing  his  arrival. 

Mr.  FERRIS,  (resuming.)  Yes;  that  may  be  so,  but  the  state  of  society 
is  just  what  you  may  expect  under  these  circumstances.  With  churches 
and  schools  in  Arizona,  no  doubt  there  will  be  a  body  of  men  created 
who  will  favor  this  policy  very  decidedly,  and  who'  will  bring  men  of 
intelligence  and  men  of  character  together. 

I  hope  General  Howard  will  be  heard  by  this  commission.  As  he 
lias  been  somewhat  abused,  it  is  proper  to  say  that  we  regard  his 
course  as  that  of  a  wise  man  ;  and  we  consider  his  services  during 
the  last  summer  as  of  the  highest  importance,  and  I  wish  I  was 
able  to  write  the  thing  up.  1  would  Like  to  write  about  that  splen 
did  act  of  Christian  heroism  that  was  performed  by  General  How 
ard  in  going  unattended  and  putting  himself  right  into  the  hands 
of  Cochise  and  his  band.  It  was  perfectly  astonishing  to  the  people 
of  Arizona.  They  did  not  dream  there  was  a  man  on  earth  who 
would  do  such  a  thing.  At  one  time,  I  believe,  while  going  among 
these  people,  General  Howard  started  off,  with  nobody  but  one  Indian 
boy,  among  men  regarded  as  the  most  fierce,  hostile,  and  implacable 
of  the  Indians  of  this  Territory. 

General  HOWARD.  Yes  ;  and  I  never  met  from  them  a  discourtesy. 

Dr.  BACKUS.  Mr.  President,  I  will  be  very  brief  in  my  statement, 
and  some  points  that  I  regard  as  important  I  may  be  able  to  intro 
duce  this  evening  if  you  have  a  conference. 

We  have  four  agencies,  two  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  two  in  Ne 
vada.  The  agent  of  the  Cherokees,  representing  eighteen  thousand, 
is  J.  B.  Jones,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  A.  Jones,  a  missionary,  who  has 
grown  up  with  them  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  their  citizens.  He 
is  also  a  graduate  from  a  northern  college.  The  agent  for  the  Creeks 
is  Professor  Lyon,  an  educated  man,  of  experience  as  a  teacher  and  pro 
fessor  in  a  university  or  college ;  and,  whatever  may  be  said  against 
these  men,  they  are  noble  men  and  true,  and  we  know  it.  They  are 
true  to  the  Indians  and  true  to  their  interests  in  every  way.  We  have 
not  established  denominational  or  mission  schools  either  with  the  Cher 
okees  or  Creeks,  but  we  have  missionaries  who  favor  these  schools  and 


30  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

sympathize  with  these  agencies.  I  think  the  Clicrokees  have  not  less 
than  sixty  schools,  which  average  as  well  as  the  schools  through  the 
country  forty-five  years  ago  did.  Some  of  the  teachers  are  more  com 
petent  than  some  teachers  were  through  the  State  of  New  York  at 
that  time.  The  Delawares,  who  are  now  adopted  citizens,  and 
others  occupying  the  Verdigris  and  Neosho  Valleys,  are  establishing 
schools  and  building  churches.  We  have  appointed  a  superintendent 
and  missionary  there  within  the  last  few  weeks,  changing  him  from  an 
other  place  becaiivse  of  his  experience.  His  duty  is  to  encourage  educa 
tion,  not  denominational,  but  in  these  district  schools,  and  also  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  So  also  the  Creeks  have  perhaps  a  corresponding  number 
of  schools.  They  have  some  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  people,  and 
the  Cherokees  some  eighteen  thousand.  They  have  also  ministry  la 
bors;  and  the  ministry  are,  perhaps,  more  in  sympathy  with  our 
southern  churches.  In  Nevada,  we  have  the  Walker  Kiver  agency, 
representing  six  thousand  Indians.  Mr.  C.  A.  Bateman  is  their  agent. 
I  have  known  him  from  childhood,  and  I  have  known  his  parents.  I 
do  not  know  as  to  his  wisdom  or  practical  ability  to  conduct  such  a 
mission  of  roving  people  ;  but,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  Secretary  of  the  In 
terior  and  all  are  well  pleased  with  his  work,  and  we  have  had  no  cause 
of  complaint.  Mr.  J.  W.  Ingalls,  who  I  am  happy  to  say  is  present,  I 
ask  may  be  heard,  either  now  or  in  the  evening,  and  that  he  give  us  a 
few  words  for  the  Pi-Utes  and  their  agency,  representing  perhaps  about 
three  thousand ;  they  being  in  the  eastern,  and  the  Walker  Kiver  the 
western  part  of  Nevada.  Mr.  Ingalls  has  a  hopeful  future.  He  antici 
pates  such  change  and  such  concentrating  on  reservations  as  shall  secure 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  such  industry,  education,  and  religious  inter 
ests  in  the  Indians,  as  will  greatly  improve  them.  I  think  he  can  speak 
for  himself,  and  I  think  he  has  the  sympathy  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  in  his  plans  and  purposes. 

I  will  add  that  I  have  by  correspondence,  and  in  various  ways,  sought  to 
secure  such  missionaries  for  the  Territory  as  might  give  their  protection 
and  sympathy  to  teachers,  whether  in  their  own  families  or  their  friends. 
It  is  difficult  to  find  teachers  to  go,  and  it  is  more  difficult  where  the 
Indians  roam  around  as  they  do  inv  Nevada.  We  have  not  yet  suc 
ceeded  in  doing  anything  more  than  to  try  to  do  for  these  Indians  there. 
I  would  simply  say  that  I  sympathize  very  much  with  the  remarks  on 
the  point  of  salaries.  I  think  the  gentlemen  have  spoken  directly  on 
that  point,  and  I  would  say  amen  to  what  has  been  said. 

We  do  not  find  the  expenses  of  agencies  the  same,  and  have  had  the 
matter  before  us  of  adding  to  the  salary  and  letting  the  agent  do  mission 
ary  service  ;  but  fearing  it  might  complicate  the  thing,  we  have  avoided 
it.  We  wish  to  have  the  agents  sent  out  as  employed  by  the  Govern 
ment,  and  therefore  we  have  not  done  anything  of  that  kind.  But  in 
Nevada  the  expense  of  living  is  much  greater  than  even  in  the  Indian 
Territory,  and  our  agents  must  leave  there  unless  we  can  help  them. 
Mr.  Jones  occupies  the  house  that  our  board  erected  for  the  missionary  - 
house.  He  never  has  moved  out  since.  We  are  told  that  we  shall  be 
paid  rent,  but  we  have  heard  nothing  of  it.  He  has  occupied  the  house 
in  his  agency  for  the  Government.  We  do  not  complain  of  that,  but  it 
is  not  providing  a  house  for  the  agent.  Other  agents  complain  that 
provisions  are  not  made  for  them.  Mr.  Jones  says  as  far  as  we  are  con 
cerned  he  is  provided  for.  I  wish  to  add  further,  that  as  far  as  I  know 
not  only  every  man  in  our  board,  but  our  friends  through  the  society, 
and  churches,  and  ministry,  sympathize  with  this  mission  and  its  work. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  Mr.  Chairman,  my  connection  with  the  service  began 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        31 

ill  August.  I  went  to  my  field  in  Nevada,  entirely  a  stranger  in  that  sec 
tion  of  the  country.  The  headquarters  are  at  Pioche,  southeast  of  Salt 
Lake  City  some  three  hundred  miles.  It  is  a  mining  settlement,  and 
there  are  but  few  Indians  close  to  the  headquarters.  I  immediately 
made  preparations  to  visit  the  entire  agency,  that  I  might  know  the 
wants  of  the  agency  in  making  recommendations  to  the  Department.  I 
found,  as  Dr.  Backus  said,  that  nothing  had  been  done  for  these  Indians 
for  the  last  three  years  in  the  way  of  education  or  civilization,  save  the 
distribution  of  a  few  supplies.  Those  properly  attached  to  the  agency 
number  a  little  over  three  thousand.  There  are  some  eight  hundred  to 
a  thousand  lying  over  across  the  Colorado,  which  it  is  the  purpose  of 
the  Government  to  attach  to  the  agency,  which  will  make  it  in  the 
neighborhood  of  four  thousand.  Some  estimate  as  high  as  six  thousand, 
but  I  think  the  estimates  of  previous  agents  have  been  largely  drawn  on 
their  imagination.  I  did  not  discover  as  many  Indians  as  I  expected  to 
when  I  got  there.  I  held  two  councils  with  the  Indians — one  at  Saint 
George  and  the  other  at  Saint  Thomas.  Saint  George  is  a  Mormon  town 
of  fifteen,  hundred  inhabitants,  and  I  found  the  Indians  lying  northeast 
and  south  of  that  settlement.  There  seemed  to  be  a  very  bitter  feeling 
existing  between  them  and  the  Mormons  from  the  fact  that  a  portion  of 
them  were  engaged  in  the  massacre  of  Mountain  Meadows.  My  agency 
comprises  the  three  southern  counties  of  Utah,  the  two  southeastern 
counties  of  Nevada,  and  one  northwestern  county  of  Arizona,  lying 
north  of  the  Colorado  River,  covering  a  very  large  tract  of  country, 
taking  about  twelve  hundred  miles  to  reach  the  different  bands.  At 
the  council  held  at  Saint  George  I  was  very  ably  assisted  by  Major 
Powell,  the  explorer,  who,  I  understand,  is  a  friend  of  General  How 
ard.  He  acted  as  my  interpreter,  as  I  did  not  feel  safe  in  employing 
any  white  man  around  there.  I  had  not  confidence  in  the  manner 
of  the  Mormons'  interpretation,  and  being  an  utter  stranger  there, 
I  wanted  a  man  I  could  have  confidence  in.  I  therefore  telegraphed 
to  Major  Powell,  and  he  rode  night  and  day  for  two  nights  and  one  day 
in  order  to  meet  me  at  the  council.  He  delivered  a  very  brief  address 
to  the  Indians,  fully  indorsing  my  recommendations  to  them,  and  very 
largely  assisted  me  while  there.  I  held  another  council  at  Saint  Thomas, 
in  Southeast  Nevada,  and  at  both,  I  will  just  state,  the  expressions  made 
by  the  Indians  were  to  fully  accede  to  the  request  of  the  Government  as 
to  education  and  civilization,  and  to  abandon  all  their  former  habits  of 
life.  In  fact,  when  I  touched  the  matter  of  education  and  instruction  in 
the  mechanical  aits  and  agriculture,  there  seemed  to  be  a  feeling  almost 
of  enthusiasm,  and  a  desire  to  immediately  have  the  work  begun  there. 
But  there  is  no  reservation,  and  it  did  not  seem  practicable  to  me  to  in 
augurate  any  system.  In  fact  there  could  not  be  any  systematic  labor 
without  a  reservation,  and  on  account  of  the  limited  salary  I  had  been 
compelled  to  leave  my  family  in  Illinois,  my  home,  and  support  my 
self  on  what  the  Government  allowed  me  there.  I  have  presented  my 
report  to  the  Department,  and  since  I  have  left  there  General  Crook,  of 
Arizona,  has  written  to  my  deputy,  urging  the  immediate  removal  of 
nearly  a  thousand  of  the  Indians  lying  over  in  Arizona,  who  are  Pi-Utes, 
to  be  attached  to  the  agency,  as  it  would  shorten  The  war  several  months 
if  done.  All  of  my  Indians  I  found  extremely  degraded  and  destitute, 
although  willing  to  work  if  they  could  have  proper  incentives ;  but  I 
found  that  the  best  lands  were  seized  by  the  Mormons  and  the  white 
settlers,  and  they  were  being  crowded  back  into  the  mountains.  The 
country  is  not  too  good  or  fertile  in  any  event,  the  best  of  it,  and  the 
system  of  irrigation  is  limited.  I  therefore  urged  the  immediate  setting 


32  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

apart  of  a  tract  of  land  in  Southeast  Nevada,  or  one  in  Southern  Utah, 
the  Nevada  tract  to  be  immediately  provided  for  by  an  appropriation  ; 
and  this  met  with  the  fullest  indorsement  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
and  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.  I  am  now,  at  the  request  of 
the  Department,  waiting  here  to  assist  the  committee  in  maturing  a  bill  ; 
and  I  can  say  this,  that  I  have  received  courtesy  and  whole  support 
from  the  Government  in  my  labor  thus  far.  While  in  this  city  I  have- 
conferred  with  General  Eaton  and  Dr.  Gregory,  of  Illinois,  now  here, 
to  aid  me  in  the  selection  of  the  right  men  as  associates  there  in  the 
management  of  the  industrial  school  for  these  Indians.  Major  Powell, 
who  has  been  among  the  Pi-Utes  of  Nevada  and  Arizona  for  the  last 
two  or  three  years,  is  preparing  a  grammar  of  their  language,  which  will 
be  of  very  great  service  to  me  in  my  work,  and  he  most  fully  indorses 
the  scheme  presented  to  the  Department.  I  can  say  that  I  enter 
upon  the  work  with  hope,  and  yet  with  fear,  from  the  fact  that  I  find 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  white  settlers  there,  and  the  lack  of  support 
on  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  the  Government.  Some  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  in  referring  to  me  personally  after  having  met  me, 
think  perhaps  I  am  an  enthusiast  in  my  work.  I  can  only  say  that  had 
they  witnessed  what  I  have  of  degradation  and  of  destitution  among 
these  Indians,  if  they  had  the  hearts  that  should  be  possessed  by  men, 
they  would  not  be  less  earnest  in  presenting  the  needs  of  these  people 
than  I  am.  And  yet  when  I  meet  some  of  them,  Senators  or  Represent 
atives,  in  seeking  to  remove  their  opposition  to  any  additional  reserva 
tion,  1  am  called,  perhaps,  an  honorable  man,  a  worthy  man,  but  then 
they  think  I  am  an  enthusiast  in  the  work. 

General  HOWARD.   That  is  a  very  good  name. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  But  I  do  desire  to  do  something  more,  as  I  remarked  to 
Commissioner  Walker,  than  simply  to  distribute  a  few  blankets  and  sup 
plies,  and  to  draw  my  salary  from  the  Government.  I  left  a  very  profitable 
business  in  Illinois  to  enter  upon  this  work.  I  was  educated  in  Massa 
chusetts  to  go  into  the  ministry.  I  was  diverted  from  that  into  mer 
cantile  life.  But  to  recover  my  health,  and  that  I  may  do  what  is  in 
the  line  of  life-work  to  me,  when  this  was  presented  to  me  I  gave  it  an 
immediate  arid  full  consideration,  have  entered  it,  and  I  do  hope,  if  God 
saves  my  life,  that  a  year  from  to-day  I  will  have  specimens  of  the  pro 
ducts  of  the  Indians  in  the  shape  of  cotton  to  show  to  you.  There  is  a 
very  rich  salt  mine  in  my  agency  that  I  have  seized,  and  I  hope  there 
will  be  something  more  than' a  written  report  to  be  made  to  you  as  to 
the  distribution  of  supplies  and  the  drawing  of  my  salary. 

Mr.  HAYDEN,  of  Philadelphia,  (representing  the  Christian  mission 
ary  convention.)  I  notice  in  the  report  that  there  are  two  agencies 
spoken  of.  What  I  have  to  say  only  has  reference  to  one,  which  is 
xhat  of  Neah.  E.  M.  Gibson  is  the  Indian  agent  at  that  point.  My 
last  information  from  him  is  his  third  quarterly  report,  in  which  he 
states  that  he  has  a  school  under  his  charge.  At  that  time  there  were 
some  twenty  pupils  in  regular  attendance,  and  some  others  transiently 
attending.  He  reported  that  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  the  ordinary 
branches  of  reading,  writing,  and  mathematics,  and  giving  a  great  deal 
of  attention  to  agriculture.  Last  spring  he  had  in  contemplation  the 
planting  of  about  thirty-five  acres  of  potatoes  and  other  vegetables,  to 
educate  the  Indians  and  to  familiarize  them  in  the  arts  of  civilization. 
He  expresses  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the 
Indians;  but,  as  a  means  of  doing  so,  he  thinks  they. should  be  first 
brought  under  the  general  principles  of  morality,  and  hence  there  are 
as  yet  no  religious  meetings  held  among  them,  attention  being  mainly 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        33, 

directed  to  instructing  them  in  the  common  principles  of  morality.  He 
has  also  sought  to  give  greater  sanctity  to  the  marriage  contract,  and, 
as  the  result  of  his  efforts,  has  recently  received  applications  from  three 
Indians  for  the  solemnization  of  their  marriage,  as  among  the  white  peo 
ple.  He  reports  that  his  best  friends  and  neighbors  are  among  the  In 
dians  ;  that  they  indicate  their  entire  confidence  in  him,  and  hence  be 
lieves  in  the  feasibility  of  this  method  of  operating  among  them,  and 
thus  gaining  an  influence  over  them  which  will  result  in  their  Christian- 
ization  and  civilization. 
Adjourned  to  7.30  p.  in. 

JANUARY  15,  1872—7.30  p.  m. 

The  meeting  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  and,  upon  motion  of  Mr. 
Welch,  the  Kev.  George  Whipple  was  appointed  chairman  and  Mr.. 
Oree  secretary.  After  which  prayer  was  offered  by  Kev.  Dr.  Backus. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  I  understand  the  reason  for  a  different  organi 
zation  of  the  meeting  this  evening  from  the  morning  meeting,  it  is  that 
the  Board  of  Commissioners  may  be  relieved  from  the  responsibility  of 
the  more  general  suggestions  that  may  come  before  the  meeting  than 
the  Board  itself  can  properly  be  called  upon  to  consider.  We  are,  then, 
organized  this  evening  simply  as  an  association  of  the  friends  of  the  In 
dian,  representing  the  various  Christian  organizations  with  which  we 
are  connected,  and  with  which  the  Government  is  cooperating  in  this 
work  of  the  salvation  of  the  Indians.  While,  then,  we  keep  the  general 
objects  before  us,  we  shall  be  more  at  liberty  to  make  individual  sug 
gestions  that  shall  come  as  representations  from  the  various  religious 
organizations  of  things  that  need  to  be  remedied;  all  plans  of  operation 
in  which  the  commissioners  may  be  able  to  render  the  societies  more 
effective  co-operation ;  things  which  we  may  properly  ask  of  the  Govern 
ment;  things  which  we  may  properly  ask  of  the  people  at  large.  In 
short,  the  whole  subject  is  before  us.  Looking  only  to  God  for  his  guid 
ance,  we  have  a  right  this  evening  to  consider  anything  that  comprises 
the  welfare  of  these  our  wards  as  well  as  the  wards  of  the  nation.  I  had 
designed,  at  an  early  stage  of  the  meeting,  or  almost  immediately,  to 
call  upon  General  Howard;  but  as  he  has  just  arrived,  it  maybe  proper 
to  give  him  a  breathing-spell  before  he  is  called  to  speak ;  and,  if  the 
meeting  will  permit  me,  I  will  say  that  Bishop  Whipple  expects  to  leave 
us  in  a  few  moments,  and  if  he  has  a  word  for  us,  we  would  like  to 
hear  it. 

Bishop  WHLPPLE.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  c'ertaiuly  did  not  expect  to  say 
anything  to-night ;  but  there  are  two  or  three  thoughts  which  I  can 
throw  out  for  the,  encouragement  of  those  who  are  working  for  the  help 
less  ;  and  the  first  is  this:  There  is  not  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  a  heathen  people  who  offer  so  great  an  encouragement  to  the 
work  of  Christian  civilization.  The  North  American  Indian  is  the  only 
heathen  on  the  face  of  the  earth  who  is  not  an  idolater;  who  recognizes 
at  once  the  fact  that  there  is  a  Great  Spirit;  who  believes  in  an  unseen 
spirit-world,  and  who  has  an  abiding  faith  in  spirit  influence.  He  also 
feels  most  keenly  that  he  belongs  to  a  common  race.  Very  much  of  the 
hostility  of  the  Indians  of  to-day  is  the  hostility  of  despair.  It  is  the 
terrible  blow  that  a  man  who  has  nothing  to  hope  for  strikes  toward 
his  enemies,  conscious  of  past  wrongs.  If  I  had  the  time  to-night,  I 
would  like  to  tell  you  some  of  these  histories.  Perhaps  a  little  incident 
that  happened  to  myself  will  explain.  I  brought  a  body  of  chiefs  to 
Philadelphia,  some  lew  years  ago.  My  friend,  Mr.  Welch,  took  these 
Indians  to  visit  the  statue  of  William  Penn.  He  told  the  Indians  the 
3  i  o 


34  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

simple  story  of  Peim's  fidelity  and  love,  and  the  Indians  listened 
with  upturned  faces,  as  though  it  was  a  new  revelation  of  the  character 
of  the  white  man.  When  Mr.  Welch  had  finished,  one  of  the  chiefs 
asked,  "  Where  are  these  Indians?"  That  told  the  whole  story.  I 
might  explain  it  by  saying  that  these  Indians  were  our  friends  during 
the  revolutionary  war,  and  so  faithful  were  they  that  Congress  thanked 
them  for  their  fidelity,  and  promised  them  that  they  never  should  be  re 
moved.  But  they  were  removed  from  Ohio ;  yet  still,  true  to  their  plighted 
faith,  they  fought  again  for  us  under  General  Harrison,  and  again  re 
ceived  a  pledge  that  they  never  should  be  removed.  They  were  removed 
again,  and  during  our  recent  civil  war  the  Government  asked  them  to 
act  as  scouts,  and  their  homes  were  destroyed  in  their  absence,  and 
very  recently,  under  this  Christian  policy,  they  are  receiving  homes  at 
the  hands  of  the  Government.  It  is  the  history  of  nearly  all  Indian 
tribes.  The  difficulties  connected  with  this  work  I  alluded  to  in  the 
remarks  I  made  to-day.  I  will  mention  one  incident  brought  out  by  the 
agent  of  the  Chippewas.  He  told  you  that  two  Indians  were  hung, 
under  the  suspicion  of  having  murdered  an  Indian  woman.  Some  wild 
Indians  came  to  me  last  fall,  quite  a  distance,  to  ask  me  some  very  un 
pleasant  questions.  They  said  very  near  the  place  where  these  Indians 
were  supposed  to  have  murdered  a  white  woman — one  of  our  own  wo 
men,  a  very  respectable  woman,  against  whom  no  one  could  say  a 
word,  who  had  come  down  to  this  trading-post,  and  was  outraged  "by 
brutal  white  men,  and  died  under  their  hands.  They  complained  to 
their  agent,  but  he  said  it  was  none  of  his  business.  All  the  white 
men  on  the  border  and  the  Indians  knew  she  had  been  murdered  by 
the  white  men.  Nothing  was  done,  said  the  Indians.  Now,  this  wo 
man  is  missing :  no  one  has  seen  her.  The  bones  which  were  supposed 
to  be  hers  were  examined  b}'  a  physician,  after  the  Indians  were  hung, 
and  were  pronounced  to  be  deer's  bones.  Now,  said  the  Indians,  why 
is  this  ?  How  is  it !  You  hang  the  Indians  under  suspicion  of  commit 
ting  a  crime,  and  allow  your  white  people  to  go  clear  when  they  have 
committed  a  crime, 

Now,  I  have  110  heart  to  speak  of  Indian  wrongs.  I  will  only  say 
that  there  is  a  bright  side  to  the  picture ;  there  is  a  silver  lining 
to  this  cloud.  The  work  we  are  conducting  to-day  is  work  for  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  work  for  our  Heavenly  Father  to  help 
this  poor,  wretched  race  out  of  their  darkness  to  the  light  of  Chris 
tian  civilization.  And,  as  I  said  before,  I  do  not  believe  that  any 
Christian  body  has  ever  engaged  in  any  work  that  has  brought  such 
blessed  fruits  as  the  work  connected  with  the  Indian  missions.  It  may 
be  said  that  these  are  heathen  men,  and  very  wretched  men,  but  that  is 
the  mission  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  There  is  another  side  to  the  ques 
tion  as  well.  I  can  understand  how  a  man  could  believe  that  this  world 
was  governed  by  chance,  and  that  might  makes  right,  and  that  the 
weak  must  always  give  place  to  the  strong,  and  should  turn  his  back 
upon  the  helpless  Indian ;  but  I  cannot  understand  how  that  could  be 
done  by  any  man  who  believes  in  a  God,  and  who  believes  in  the  truth  of 
God's  law,  "that  whatsoever  a  mausoweth,  that  shall  he  reap,"  and  that 
when  a  Christian  people  sow  robbery,  they  reap  robbery,  and  when  they 
sow  murder,  they  reap  murder. 

In  our  own  experience  we  have  found  out  that  it  was  far  better  for 
us  to  do  this  Christian  work  than  to  leave  these  poor  people  unpro 
tected,  for  I  believe  that  our  own  Sioux  massacre  in  Minnesota  was 
brought  about  by  shameless  robbery,  that  is  to  say,  the  Indians  sold 
eight  hundred  thousand  acres  of  their  reservation,  for  which  they  never 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.         35 

* 

received  one  solitary  cent.  It  was  absorbed  in  claims.  They  waited 
two  months  for  annuities.  Mad,  exasperated,  and  angry,  they  said  their 
children,  some  of  them,  would  starve  to  death.  A  good  part  of  these 
annuity  moneys  had  been  taken  bere  at  Washington,  and  used  for 
schemes,  and  I  believe  that  since  that  massacre  this  Government  has 
expended  more  money  in  the  Indian  wars  that  grew  out  of  that  piece 
of  robbery  than  all  the  moneys  that  all  the  Christian  bodies  in  Amer 
ica  have  expended  for  missions  since  this  continent  was  discovered.  I 
have  not  a  question  about  it.  And  I  believe  that  this  reward  that  has 
come  to  every  Christian  body  which  has  attempted,  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ,  to  carry  the  gospel  to  these  poor  people,  is  a  token  of  the  love 
of  our  Father.  And  if  we  only  have  the  faith  to  do  the  work,  leaving 
the  harvest  to  God,  we  shall  see  this  wretched  people,  and  see  those 
that  are  now  wandering  in  their  darkness,  sitting  at  the  feet  of  the 
Savior,  "  clothed,  and  in  their  right  mind." 

General  HOWARD.  Gentlemen,  I  have  listened  to-day  to  the  reports 
from  the  different  societies  with  much  interest,  and  many  a  time  I  have 
thought  I  would  give  a  great  deal  if  1  could  express  the  feelings  of  my 
heart  as  well  as  they  have  done.  When  Bishop  Whipple  was  giv 
ing  us  those  interesting  incidents,  I  thought  how  similar  (though  he  is 
in  the  far  Northwest)  are  all  his  observations  and  experiences  to  those 
of  the  visitors  to  the  extreme  Southwest.  The  character  of  the  Indians 
seems  to  be  about  the  same ;  their  habits  the  same ;  the  treatment  that 
they  have  received  in  the  Southwest  even  worse.  My  first  connection 
with  the  Indians  in  any  way  was  in  1856  and  1857,  when  sent  to  Florida. 
I  there  became  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  dealings  of  our  people 
with  them.  The  cry  would  come  from  Florida,  "  An  Indian  war !  "  when 
there  were  precious  few  of  the  Seminoles  there  and  but  very  little  indi 
cation  of  war.  But  the  cry  carried  money,  carried  troops,  carried  sup 
plies,  into  a  comparatively  desolate  region.  A  great  many  volunteers 
were  raised  when  I  was  in  Florida.  I  was  attached  to  the  Ordnance  De 
partment,  issued  arms  and  ammunition,  and  so  became  personally  ac 
quainted  with  nearly  all  the  volunteer  officers,  and  with  their  methods 
of  dealing;  there  was  nothing  which  struck  me,  then,  with  more  horror 
than  the  pursuit  of  the  women  and  children  as  a  part  of  the  operations 
of  that  war.  The  idea  prevails  to-day  in  a  large  portion  of  our  country 
that  to  carry  on  war  with  any  success  whatever  against  Indian  tribes 
it  is  necessary  to  come  upon  them  by  surprise  and  to  fire  directly  into 
camps  containing  women  and  children  as  well  as  men.  That  massacre 
of  Camp  Grant — that  horrible  massacre  which  created  a  shudder,  not 
only  throughout  our  country,  but  throughout  the  world,  where  so  large 
a  number  of  women  and  children  were  slain  and  so  many  children  were 
carried  away  captives  and  sold  into  slavery,  a  large  number  of  them 
still  being  in  Mexico,  and  nnrecovered  by  our  Government — was  only  an 
instance  that  was  told.  Nearly  every  massacre  had  been  of  a  similar 
character.  It  is  the  way  that  our  people  have  dealt  with  the  Indians. 

Now,  with  reference  to  our  Army,  I  would  like  to  say  a  word  or  two. 
In  Florida,  I  found  the  Army  officers,  as  a  general  rule,  friends  of  the 
Indians.  The  regular  officers  of  the  Army  at  large  were  comparatively 
friendly  with  them.  I  went  down  there  without  much  feeling  in  the  In 
dian's  favor.  But  afterward  I  became  deeply  interested  in  making 
peace  with  them,  and  went  out  to  do  so.  I  know  a  great  many  other 
officers  who  felt  in  the  same  way,  that  it  was  a  most  hopeless  service, 
the  most  thankless  service  they  could  render,  to  fight  Indians. 
Many  an  Army  officer  on  the  frontier  who  is  sent  to  do  this  work  is  un 
der  orders  to  do  it,  and  he  has  a  very  difficult  task  indeed — an  exceed- 


36  BOARD"  OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS 

iugly  difficult  and  trying  one.  But  what  I  refer  to  respecting  the 
method  of  massacring  the  Indians  is  this:  Where  exasperated  whites 
form  volunteer  forces,  or  wThere  they  spur  on  the  soldiers  to  do  the 
work  for  them,  excesses  always  follow.  This  was  very  much  the  case 
with  Arizona.  It  was  reported  that  there  was  danger  of  a  general 
war ;  and  an  appeal  of  horror  came  from  there  as  though  the  people 
would  all  be  murdered  by  the  Apaches.  Well,  war  did  exist;  the 
President  was  in  great  distress  about  it  5  the  Secretary  of  the  In 
terior  particularly  so ;  and  it  was  difficult  to  tell  whom  to  select  to 
send  out.  My  Bureau  was  then  about  being  closed,  and  Mr.  Delano 
sent  for  me.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  him,  and  he  besought 
me  to  go  to  this  country.  I  went  out  there  for  the  purpose  of  mak 
ing  peace,  if  possible,  or,  at  any  rate,  to  look  into  the  condition  of 
affairs  and  make  a  report ;  to  "  make  one  more  effort  for  peace,"  as 
the  President  wrote  to  General  Schofield.  I  went  to  the  commander  of 
the  military  division,  and  then  to  the  commander  of  the  department, 
before  doing  anything  special.  1  was  also  directed  to  go  to  the  white 
inhabitants,  Americans  and  Mexicans,  and  did  so.  I  proceeded  from 
village  to  village.  Wherever  I  could  collect  them  together  I  informed 
them  concerning  what  the  President  desired.  Now,  in  regard  to  the 
term  "Apaches,"  I  notice  that  the  entire  press  is  at  fault,  a  wrong  im 
pression  is  existing.  There  are  those  who  are  called  "Apaches"  on  the 
border  of  Texas.  There  are  those  who  are  called  Apaches  in  the  north 
eastern  corner  of  Arizona.  Now,  how  is  it  that  these  are  all  "Apaches" 
and  yet  do  not  speak  the  same  language,  and  have  no  relationship  the 
one  with  the  other!  Often  it  is  said  that  General  Crook  is  pursuing  the 
"Apaches."  How  does  that  happen  when  you  have  made  peace  with 
them  "?  I  wish  to  explain  what  is  meant  by  "Apaches."  The  answer  is 
that  the  wild  Mohaves,  the  Tontos,  the  Arrivipais,  the  Piuals,  the  Sierra 
Blancas,  the  Mimbres,  the  Chiricahuas,  though  spread  over  a  vast  sec 
tion  of  country,  have  a  similarity  of  language,  and  probably  have  at 
some  time  been  united,  but  the  bands  now  are  isolated  "by  hundreds 
of  miles.  I  noticed  in  Dr.  Ferris's  report  to-day  that  he  spoke  of  the 
Mohave  Apaches,  and  the  Mohave  Reservation  on  the  Colorado  River, 
between  Arizona  and  California.  Those  are  "  Mohaves,"  and  not  real 
Mohave  Apaches.  The  Indians  who  have  escaped  from  these  tribes, 
and  have  intermarried  with  the  wild  Apaches,  are  called  Mohave  Apaches, 
and  any  wild  Mohave  who  has  abandoned  his  tribe  and  gone  off,  is  an 
Apache.  So  that  all  through  the  northern  section  the  wild  Indians  of 
the  reservation,  many  of  them  committing  depredations,  are  called 
Apaches  or  Mohave  Apaches.  Coining  down  a  little  farther  south, 
seventy  or  eighty  miles,  there  is  a  section  of  country  called  the  Tonto 
Basin.  It  is  large,  surrounded  by  mountains.  In  this  Tonto  Basin  there 
is  a  tribe  of  Indians  named  Apaches,  or  "Tonto  Apaches."  They  are 
sometimes  called  "  Tontos."  The  word  tonto  means  "  fool." 

The  first  Indians  I  tried  to  communicate  with  were  these,  and  I  wish 
to  tell  you  an  incident  that  occurred.  Some  years  ago  a  physician  in 
our  service,  not  a  Regular  Army  physician,  but  a  contract  one,  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Reno,  in  the  Tonto  Basin.  It  was  a  fort  then  occu 
pied.  The  chief  and  his  people  came  into  the  fort.  A  kind  of  peace 
was  made  with  them.  When  there,  this  physician  undertook  to  poison 
the  chief,  but  did  not  succeed.  His  name  was  Del  She  or  Chel-She.  He 
gave  him  a  dose  of  arsenic — an  overdose.  The  physician  was  exceed 
ingly  anxious  to  have  if  take  effect ;  but  he  threw  it  up.  He  said,  when 
he  approached  him  the  next  day,  "Amigo,"  and  as  he  drew  near  he  shot 
him  through  the  body.  This  even  did  not  kill  him.  The  Indians  think 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        37 

he  bears  a  charmed  life,  saying  "  a  ballet  went  through  him  and  did 
not  kill  him."  This  man  has,  of  course,  been  full  of  treachery.  He  will 
bring  in  his  people  and  pretend  to  do  right,  and  the  first  that  is  known 
he  is  doing  some  mischief.  I  do  not  think  we  can  expect  much  of  him. 
I  have  given  you  a  literal  case.  Since  then  he  has  been  habitually 
treacherous  ;  but  there  is  something  to  be  said  about  that  on  his  side : 
These  Indians,  with  himself,  were  brought  into  Fort  McDowell.  I  visited 
Fort  McDowell  soon  after  they  left.  An  order  was  issued  by  the  depart 
ment  commander  in  consonance  with  the  order  from  the  military  division 
and  from  Army  headquarters,  fixing  the  period  beyond  which  Indians  were 
to  be  treated  as  incorrigible,  provided  they  were  not  on  the  reservation. 
As  soon  as  that  order  was  issued,  almost  immediately  before  the  day 
arrived  on  which  it  was  to  be  put  in  execution,  every  one  of  these  In 
dians  was  gone  from  Fort  McDowell.  I  found  out  how  to  account  for  it. 
It  was  simply  this:  When  I  first  went  to  the  Territory,  a  man  was 
recommended  to  me  as  the  best  interpreter  I  could  possibly  have.  I  sent 
this  interpreter  out,  and  had  with  him  one  of  the  finest  young  officers 
we  had  in  Arizona,  with  a  body  of  soldiers,  to  try  to  communicate  with 
this  tribe.  I  tried  myself  in  other  ways,  by  smokes  and  signs,  and  did 
not  succeed.  It  was  not  until  long  after  that  that  I  discovered  the 
reason  of  failure.  It  was,  simply,  that  this  interpreter  himself  had 
killed  many  Apaches;  that  they  hated  him,  and  that  they  would  give 
no  sort  of  sign  of  their  presence  upon  his  approach.  One  of  their  chiefs 
told  me  afterward  that  he  was  a  liar.  When  we  made  a  peace  at  Camp 
Grant,  he  said  to  me,  "  What  will  this  man  do;  how  will  he  be  able  to 
get  a  living?  His  occupation  is  gone  as  soon  as  peace  is  made."  That 
is  the  case  with  many  interpreters.  Go  through  that  country  and  you 
will  find  plenty  of  self  constituted  interpreters  who  do  the  same  thing. 
What;  I  mean  is,  that  these  interpreters  deceive  the  Indians.  This  man 
whom  I  first  spoke  of  must  have  done  so,  because  it  was  for  the  Indians' 
interest  to  remain  there.  They  were  to  be  fed,  and  treated  kindly,  but 
they  disappeared  immediately  upon  this  order  being  given.  They  went 
outside  to  take  the  condition  of  those  who  were  to  be  slain  rather  than 
to  remain  in  and  receive  the  benefits  of  the  Government. 

Another  case  of  false  interpretation  occurred  at  Camp  Verdi.  It  was 
told  me  again  and  again  by  witnesses  whom  I  deem  perfectly  reliable, 
by  officers  of  the  Army  and  by  citizens,  that  the  interpreters  actually 
told  those  Indians  that  war  was  to  be  made  upon  them  that  day,  and 
every  one  of  them  fled.  Again,  there  was  another  order  issued  to  take 
them  prisoners  of  war  when  they  came  in.  This  order  was  interpreted 
kindly  ;  simply  to  feed  them  and  take  care  of  them  as  prisoners  of  war, 
with  a  view  of  restraining  their  liberty  until  peace  was  made  with  other 
tribes.  It  was  not  properly  understood,  and  when  executed  away  from 
the  commanding  general  or  the  Indian  agent,  it  was  often  cruelly  exe 
cuted,  as  at  Camp  Verdi,  where  the  Indians  were  placed  in  irons.  Put 
two  or  three  Indians  in  irons,  and  no  more  will  come  in. 

Instances  of  bad  faith. — There  are  several  instances  in  this  Territory 
which  show  how  little  we  keep  faith.  After  visiting  Fort  McDowell,  I 
went  to  Camp  Grant,  and  succeeded,  finally,  after  a  long  trial,  in  mak 
ing  a  peace  between  thePapagos,  Pi- [Ites,  Mexicans  and  others,  and  the 
Apaches  at  that  post,  and  in  that  vicinity.  We  had  a  grand  council  at 
Camp  Grant.  It  was  one  of  the  most  trying  times  I  ever  had  in  my  life. 
The  Mexicans  and  Americans  brought  up  some  children  that  had  been 
taken  at  the  massacre.  They  brought  them  up  very  readily.  I  was  sur 
prised  at  it ;  but  I  found  that  they  had  been  deceived ;  that  they  thought  I 
really  would  be  able  to  persuade  the  Indians  to  allow  them  to  retain  the 


38  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

children.  They  wanted  to  bring  them  and  have  the  arrangement  made.  I 
was  entirely  unable  to  make  any  such  arrangement,  and  was  obliged  to 
retain  them  ;  and  when  I  pronounced  the  decision  to  return  them  to  the 
Indians,  there  was  great  anger  evinced  by  the  Mexicans  and  Americans, 
and  it  was  thought  that  I  was  treacherous  in  the  thing.  After  praying 
and  thinking  over  the  subject  next  day,  I  decided  on  taking  an  appeal 
from  the  district  attorney,  who  took  grounds  against  the  children's 
return  to  the  Indians,  to  tbe  President  of  the  United  States.  Entertain 
ing  that  appeal,  I  decided  that  these  children  should  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  agent,  and  be  retained  at  the  agency-building  until  the 
President  should  decide.  The  President  did  decide  that  they  should 
be  returned  to  their  tribe.  It  was  an  instance  of  justice  which  pene 
trated  all  the  Indian  reservations  of  that  region  for  hundreds  of  miles 
around.  Wherever  I  went,  and  wherever  it  was  told  that  I  actually 
took  those  who  had  been  captured  by  the  whites  and  returned  them  to 
the  Indians,  the  faith  and  the  heart  of  the  Indians  were  with  me.  The 
Mojave  Apaches  are  those  at  Camp  Verdi.  They  are  quite  a  homo 
geneous  people,  and  can  understand  the  Tontos.  We  succeeded  in  get 
ting  two  hundred  of  the  latter  to  come  in.  While  at  Camp  Grant,  one 
man  came  in  who  was  represented  to  be  a  bad  Indian.  There  are  bad 
Indians  among  these  people,  but  they  are  not  all  bad.  There  are  really 
comparatively  few  who  are  incorrigible,  or  those  who  mean  to  do  wrong; 
but  tb  ere  are,  of  course,  bad  Indians.  Well,  one  of  these  really  bad  Indians, 
who  had  always  been  an  enemy  of  the  whites,  came  in  to  the  reservation. 
The  agent  wished  to  arrest  him,  and  asked  the  commander  of  the  post  to  do 
so.  The  commander  of  the  post  sent  an  officer  to  make  the  arrest.  The 
officer  accordingly  took  a  detachment  and  went  out  for  that  purpose, 
but  did  not  succeed.  He  was  in  the  sutler's  store,  and  seeing  the  soldiers 
coming,  he  rushed  out  and  went  among  the  Tonto  Apache  Indians. 
The  soldiers  immediately  levelled  their  pieces  and  tired  into  the  crowd. 
The  agent  having  asked  for  this,  and  the  whole  tribe  knowing  it.  lost 
confidence  in  him  on  that  account,  and  ever  after  he  had  to  have  a 
guard  with  him.  He  had  no  wrong  intention  in  asking  this  assistance 
at  all,  although  I  think  myself  that  it  was  exceedingly  injudicious,  but 
he  never  could  recover  the  confidence  of  the  Indians  nor  his  former 
feeling  of  safety  among  them. 

Breaking  the  peace. — The  Mexicans  and  Americans  made  peace  with 
the  Apaches,  at  Camp  Grant,  and  entered  into  solemn  relations  of  peace. 
Who  broke  it  first 'f  Because  a  bad  Indian  came  on  the  reservation  it 
wTas  110  excuse  for  us  to  level  our  muskets  into  a  group  of  innocent 
people.  A  great  many  things  have  occurred  at  that  Camp  Grant.  I 
do  not  wonder  that  the  Lord  has  cursed  the  place  so  that  nobody  can 
live  there  without  fever.  Five  Indians  were  brought  in  at  one  time  by 
a  flag  of  truce,  and  when  they  were  running  across  the  parade-ground 
they  were  fired  on  and  shot.  Within  a  mile  of  that  post  a  terrible 
massacre  occurred.  Coming  in  in  the  morning  at  daylight  they  slew 
women  and  children,  yet  not  a  particle  of  resistance  was  made.  They 
were  murdered  in  cold  blood.  "And  you  speak  of  these  things  as  if 
there  were  no  excuse  P  There  are  plenty  of  excuses.  We  have  heard 
of  excuses  for  such  things,  and  will  hear  them  always.  You  say  we  do 
not  speak  of  the  horrors  on  the  other  side.  Wre  are  all  acquainted  with 
the  horrors  on  tbe  other  side ;  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  them. 
But  go  to  the  Indians  in  the  right  spirit ;  go  to  them  in  the  way  in 
which  you  are  going  to  them  now,  and  it  will  sooner  or  later  stop  these 
horrid  massacres.  It  is  strange  that  we  cannot  see  it !  For  nearly 
twelve  years  in  Arizona  we  have  been  at  war.  We  have  spent  millions 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  39 

and  millions  of  money  to  destroy  that  portion  of  the  Apaches  south  of 
the  country  I  have  been  speaking  of — the  Kio-Bonito,  the  Mimbres, 
the  Chiricahuas  not  on  reservations,  and  all  that  long  line  of  tribes  of 
Apaches  that  run  down  into  Mexico.  These  are  different  from  the 
others  I  have  been  describing  to  you.  They  are  really  a  better  class  of 
people  in  many  respects.  I  noticed  in  the  tribes  that  I  visited,  absolutely 
no  evidences  of  uuchastity;  they  were  quick  and  active;  they  looked 
better  and  brighter  than  any  of  the  Indians  who  had  been  around  the 
military  posts.  We  have  been  nearly  twelve  years  spending  money  to 
suppress  them,  and  yet  it  could  not  be  done.  I  tried  every  means  rather 
than  go  myself  into  their  fastnesses.  I  found  there  was  no  other  way, 
and  that  I  must  go  without  escort  and  without  soldiers,  if  I  would  com 
municate  with  them.  The  Indians  advised  me,  when  I  had  only  six 
white  men  in  my  party  and  two  Indians,  when  we  came  within  a  hun 
dred  miles  of  the  camp  of  Cochise,  to  diminish  my  party  still  further. 
I  diminished  it  to  two  besides  myself.  My  party  consisted  of  Captain 
Jefferds,  Captain  Sladen.  and  myself.  Captain  Jefferds  was  a  citizen 
of  the  country  in  whom  the  Indians  had  confidence,  and  Captain  Sladeri 
was  my  aid.  We  went  more  than  a  hundred  miles  with  this  small 
party  before  we  reached  the  camp  of  Cochise,  and  by  great  care,  by 
showing  signs  with  smokes,  indicating  our  number,  and  going  entirely 
around  his  camp  before  we  entered,  we  made  our  way  in  through  a  nar 
row  pass,  through  a  deep  canon ;  a  place  where,  if  troops  had  under 
taken  to  enter,  every  one  of  them  could  have  been  slain.  In  these 
mountains  at  that  point  a  hundred  men  could  hold  at  bay  ten  thousand. 
We  came  into  one  of  the  finest  natural  fortifications  I  ever  saw  in  my 
life.  While  there  communicating  with  Cochise  under  that  oak  tree, 
after  talking  with  him.  a  few  minutes,  he  told  me  a  history,  and  it  is 
very  much  the  same  that  the  governor  of  Arizona  has  put  forth  to  the 
country  in  print.  It  was  a  history  of  the  wrongs  of  the  Apaches.  He 
says,  "  We  treated  the  white  man  well  ;  we  had  no  trouble  with  him  at 
all;  we  had  no  war  until  the  Bascom  massacre  came."  This  young  offi 
cer,  Bascom,  understood  that  Cochise's  band  had  taken  some  children. 
He  demanded  these  children.  Cochise  said  they  were  not  in  his  band. 
The  officer  disputed  him  and  said  that  they  were.  He  then  took  Co 
chise  and  three  other  Indians  prisoners.  Cochise  made  his  way  out 
and  the  others  were  left.  Cochise  went  out,  captured  the  neighboring 
station-man,  a  white  man  who  had  been  his  friend,  put  a  rope  around 
his  neck,  and  in  plain  sight  and  hearing  of  Bascom  told  him  that 
this  man  would  be  hung  unless  he  surrendered  his  friends.  Bascom 
hung  his  friends,  and  their  bodies  remained  there  for  years.  While  out 
in  that  country,  a  man  told  me  he  had  slept  under  the  skeletons  as  the 
safest  spot,  because  the  Apaches  would  not  go  near  that  point.  Co 
chise  had  the  rope  around  this  man's  neck,  attached  it  to  the  pommel  of 
his  saddle  and  choked  the  man  to  death.  That  was  the  beginning  of 
the  war.  From  that  time  on  these  Apaches  have  been  murdering  the 
people  all  the  time,  and  we  have  been  fighting  them,  and  the  people 
have  told  me  again  and  again  that  the  average  was  about  ten'  to  one  ; 
that  the  Indians  had  killed  ten  white  men  where  we  had  succeeded  in  killing- 
one  Indian.  I  noticed  in  one  of  the  papers  of  Arizona  that  it  thanked 
God  that  so  many  more  Indians  were  killed;  but,  notwithstanding  the 
counting  up,  the  number  of  white  men,  women,  and  children  vastly  ex 
ceeded  them,  and  that  is  the  sort  of  warfare  that  some  men  seem  to  like, 
^ow,  sometimes  there  is  a  little  mistake  about  this.  There  are  some 
men  (and  let  me  speak  plainly)  who  love  to  make  money  out  of  anything — 
human  life,  human  blood,  human  morals,  or,  from  demoralization.  Up 


4®  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

along  the  coast,  they  control  quite  a  large  trade.  The  more  soldiers 
that  go  down  below,  the  more  trade  they  will  have;  and  then,  without 
any  knowledge  whatever,  they  will  send  telegrams  from  the  coast  above 
all  over  the  land  with  reference  to  what  is  being  done,  and  what  is 
wanted  down  below.  Now,  when  you  go  into  that  territory,  there  are 
a  few  men  who  want  war,  who  can  make  money  out  of  it.  They  have 
prospects  of  contracts,  and  their  interests  lie  in  that  direction.  But  the 
vast  majority  of  the  people  really  are  not  in  favor  of  war,  but  have  a 
theory  in  their  minds  that  by  war  they  can  conquer  a  peace,  and  that 
eventually  they  will  have  peace.  They  are  in  a  sort  of  fever  all  the 
time  ;  they  fear  the  Indians  will  come  in  and  massacre  them  ;  and  then 
almost  every  family  has  had  somebody  killed  from  it.  Those  of  us  who 
do  not  live  in  such  a  place  must  remember  this :  that  if  we  were  there 
and  under  these  influences  wre  would  feel  and  speak  very  much  as  they 
do.  I  think  we  ought  to  remember  that  to  form  a  proper  judgment 
with  regard  to  these  people.  I  do  not  say  it  is  altogether  right,  but 
that  is  the  feeling  through  the  community  with  regard  to  it.  They  say, 
•"  First  conquer  the  Indians  and  bring  them  into  subjection  ;  whip  them, 
and  then  you  can  make  men  out  of  them.1'  Now,  a  little  observation  of 
course  will  show  that  that  is  not  so.  Go  to  any  tribe  really  whipped 
and  you  will  find  that  tribe  degraded ;  the  women  degraded  by  the 
white  men  ;  drunkenness  and  debauchery,  laziness  and  worthlessness 
prevailing.  I  could  name  tribe  after  tribe  of  that  kind,  and  in  propor 
tion  as  they  have  been  in  contact  with  a  horrible  class  of  white  men 
in  that  proportion  are  they  degraded  and  demoralized.  But  as  you  go 
further  from  it  you  find  less  of  that  sort  of  demoralization.  These  peo 
ple  say  "  why  do  you  wish  to  bring  the  white  man  in  contact  with  us." 
For  mercy's  sake  let  us  bring  some  degree  of  Christian  or  chaste  hu 
manity  into  contact  writh  them.  But  is  not  the  case  hopeless?  How 
can  they  trust  you  after  such  conduct  as  this  toward  them  ?  That 
incident  of  Bishop  Whipple,  related  to-day,  touched  me  very  deepl3\ 
I  could  name  to  you  very  many  such  instances.  It  seems  so  easy  to 
touch  the  heart  of  one  of  these  men.  Now,  when  I  started  from  Wash 
ington  I  believed  these  Apaches  to  be  the  lowest  of  human  beings. 
When  I  arrived  at  Camp  Grant  I  found  the  boys  quick  to  learn ;  they 
gathered  around  me  instantly.  I  would  undertake  to  teach  them  Eng 
lish,  and  they  to  teach  me  Apache.  I  had  a  little  book,  writing  down 
their  words.  They  were  kind,  showed  no  hostility,  were  glad  to  welcome 
me.  I  went  among  them  in  this  spirit,  wearing  a  pleasant  face,  with 
out  a  pistol  or  any  weapon  but  a  jack-knife,  and  I  found  no  difficulty. 
One  night,  in  company  with  some  gentlemen,  we  went  out  unarmed 
seven  or  eight  miles,  and  sat  with  the  chief,  who  regarded  our  visit  as 
a  special  mark  of  favor.  Another  time  I  met  an  old  man,  and  said  to 
him,  u  You  have  a  Father  above  ;  I  have  the  same  Father;  therefore, 
we  are  brothers.7'  He  sat  and  looked  into  my  face  a  moment,  got  up 
and  walked  across  the  room  and  gave  me  his  hand.  He  was  my  strongest 
friend  afterward.  He  is  to-day  working  for  peace.  He  came  to  Wash 
ington  with  me,  and  helped  to  bring  others  who  were  reluctant  in  the 
beginning.  And  this  is  the  simple  truth.  I  saw  a  man  who  came  into 
Camp  Grant,  who  was  full  of  hatred,  who  was  opposed  to  the  policy  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  who  was  opposed  to  anything  that 
was  respectable  in  the  Christian  faith,  who  wras  opposed  to  the  Indians 
per  se.  I  saw  him  there.  I  noticed  the  distrust  of  his  countenance.  I 
noticed  the  way  in  which  he  treated  the  interpreter.  I  noticed  his 
whole  bearing;  and  I  also  noticed  the  reciprocity  of  hate  from  these 
people.  They  have  not  learned  to  bless  their  enemies,  and  bless  those 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        41 

who  curse  them  and  despitefully  use  them  and  maltreat  them.  That 
must  come  in  a  different  way.  I  do  not  say  that  I  might  not  have  been 
killed.  I  would  not  have  blamed  them  particularly  if  they  had  killed 
me.  But  what  was  the  truth  ?  I  staid  eleven  days  in  the  camp  of  the 
wildest  Indians  in  Arizona,  and  while  I  was  there  I  sent  out  to  the 
neighboring  posts  not  to  attack  any  parties  unless  they  were  commit 
ting  depredations.  I  was  instantly  published  as  having  reversed  the 
order  of  the  President  of  the  United  Sfates,  and  as  protecting  these 
criminals  through  the  country  ;  but  if  they  had  assaulted  one  of  these 
parties  coming  in,  of  course  we  would  have  been  taken  out  and  hung. 
We  knew  that.  Now,  all  the  time  we  were  there  Cochise  himself  was 
in  a  fever  of  anxiety  on  that  subject,  and  kept  speaking  to  us  again  and 
again  about  it.  He  said  to  me,  "  What  will  be  done  to  the  Indians 
coming  inf  It  was  on  that  account  that  he  was  anxious,  lie  became 
more  and  more  attached  to  us,  and  he  did  not  mean  that  anything  be 
longing  to  us  should  be  touched  or  that  our  lives  should  be  put  in  jeop 
ardy.  Now,  a  good  deal  has  been  said  about  citizenship. 

The  Papagos  near  Tucson. — The  Papagos  in  the  vicinity  of  Tucson 
will  be  aided  best  by  citizenship.  They  have  not  education.  I  was  very 
much  in  favor  of  education  preceding  citizenship  for  the  colored  people 
in  the  beginning,  but  I  found  out  afterward  that  citizenship  is  the 
lead-horse.  It  is  absolutely  necessary.  Just  as  long  as  it  was  possible 
to  prevent  the  freed  men  from  voting  by  burning  down  their  school- 
houses  that  work  was  done.  Even  in  the  civilized  State  of  Maryland 
twelve  school-houses  were  burned  to  prevent  them  from  learning ;  but 
the  instant  they  attained  citizenship  that  work  ceased  altogether. 
Now,  give  to  these  Papagos  in  the  vicinity  of  Tucson  citizenship, 
and  you  will  be  perfectly  astonished  to  see  what  fine  people  they 
will  become.  They  can  have  no  rights  now;  they  have  none.  They 
keep  crowding  them  in  all  the  time.  Some  of  them  tell  me,  \vith  a 
great  deal  of  feeling,  that  they  are  gradually  loosing  their  lands.  They 
ask  :  "  Cannot  something  be  done?"  The  agent  asks  for  a  reservation 
in  the  vicinity  of  Tucson.  But  citizenship  is  better  than  a  reservation. 
If  we  give  them  citizenship  it  will  no  longer  be  Papago,  Papago,  but  it 
will  be  William  Jones,  John  Brown,  and  so  on,  with  all  the  rights  of  in 
dividual  men. 

With  reference  to  the  Pimas  on  the  Gila,  about  everything  was  said 
by  Dr.  Ferris  that  was  necessary.  They  have  expressed  a  wish  to  go  to 
the  Indian  country.  But  if  they  remain  in  Arizona,  give  them  citizen 
ship  also.  The  people  love  citizens  in  Arizona,  and  like  to  have  their 
votes.  They  get  all  the  citizens  they  can.  They  count  up  nearly  ten 
thousand  within  the  limits  of  the  Territory,  I  believe.  But  they  will 
have  more  when  they  have  these,  and  then,  instead  of  being  Pimas,  as 
I  said,  they  will  be  individual  men  and  have  individual  rights.  A  great 
many  will  say  they  are  not  prepared  for  citizenship.  They  are  prepared 
for  the  rights  and  responsibilities  of  citizens.  If  you  give  suffrage  to 
them,  they  will  be  able  to  protect  their  own  property,  a;nd  they  can  be 
punished  for  their  crimes.  Citizens  came  in  a  body  to  us  as  we  passed 
through  Arizona  on  our  way  home.  The  Kepresentative  from  Arizona 
was  present,  the  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  the  agent,  and  others, 
and  these  citizens  begged  and  plead  for  troops  to  be  brought  to  keep 
peace  between  the  Pimas  and  the  whites.  It  shows  us  that  the  feeling 
of  hostility  does  not  exist  toward  the  "Apaches"  alone,  and  this  in 
stance  was  sufficient  to  show  it,  and  we  did  recommend  earnestly  to 
General  Crook  to  send  down  a  company  to  be  in  that  immediate  vicinity 
to  keep  the  peace.  But  if  our  Government  will  give  them  the  rights  of 


42  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

citizenship,  I  think  the  whole  difficulty  will  be  settled,  because  they  will 
have  the  right  to  move  from  the  Gila  River,  where  their  territory  is 
cramped,  and  can  go  to  Salt,  the  Colorado,  or  to  any  other  river  of  the 
Territory,  and  do  as  other  citizens  do — take  up  land  where  there  is 
laud  fit  for  cultivation. 

I  recommended  in  Arizona  a  diminution  of  that  department.  Now  a 
great  many  people  wonder  I  have  sustained  General  Crook  so  often,  and 
have  spoken  to  ine  about  it.  General  Crook  is  an  excellent  officer.  He 
is  a  very  quiet  and  retiring  man,  and  I  believe  only  seeks  to  do  his  duty 
as  he  is  instructed,  and  he  does  it  conscientiously.  That  is  my  opinion 
after  long  association  with  him.  And  yet  a  great  many  subordinate  offi 
cers  exceed  their  instructions,  and  are  guilty  of  cruelties.  But  the  trou 
ble  is  not  with  General  Crook.  It  is  with  the  endeavor  to  keep  peace 
with  the  Indians,  and  make  war  upon  them  at  the  same  time.  It  is  the 
want  of  a  clear  and  distinct  understanding  of  the  way  to  deal  with  this 
whole  question.  Now  the  agents  are  very  few  in  number,  and  they  are 
hundreds  of  miles  apart.  Here  is  Dr.  Tonner,  one  of  the  agents  on  the 
Colorado  River.  Several  hundred  miles  from  him  is  another  agent,  at 
Camp  Verde.  Several  hundred  miles  is  another,  at  Camp  Grant.  A 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  is  another,  tip  at  Camp  Apache.  Now  what 
is  there  behind  these  agents  ?  They  have  a  few  employes,  and  these 
employes,  as  a  general  thing,  must  be  taken  from  the  country ;  for  you 
cannot  get  men  to  go  from  the  east,  and  therefore  you  get  those  very 
often  who  have  been  for  a  long  time  drunkards,  sometimes  licentious, 
and  guilty  of  other  immoralities.  At  one  station  in  New  Mexico,  a  Na- 
vajo  station,  I  found  that  nearly  every  subordinate  was  guilty  of  some 
of  these  vices,  and  a  man  who  was  recommended  for  a  sub-agent  was 
not  yet  married  to  the  mother  of  his  children.  Now  what  is  the  remedy  J? 
It  is  not  sufficient  to  send  an  agent  to  one  of  these  frontier  posts  or  sta 
tions,  but  you  must  send  a  good  Christian  blacksmith,  a  good  man  for 
teamster,  a  good  man  for  butcher,  and  they  must  be  amply  efficient  in 
their  trades,  as  well  as  good  men.  It  may  be  necessary  to  pav  more 
than  the  Government  pays  in  order  to  get  a  Christian  blacksmith,  but 
the  societies  had  better  give  the  whole  price  than  to  have  one  who  is 
guilty  of  nothing  but  gross  profanity,  or  some  other  crime.  Profanity 
prevails  in  that  country,  and  I  hardly  ever  found  an  employe  at  stations 
or  on  stage-routes  who  was  not  full  of  it,  who  was  not  always  insulting 
the  Almighty.  Certainly,  with  such  instrumentalities,  you  cannot  civilize 
anybody.  Therefore  you  must  plow  deeper  than  your  agents.  Agents 
have  a  hard,  very  hard  time.  In  Arizona  one  of  the  agents  told  me,  and  I 
believe  him,  that  it  took  every  cent  of  his  pay  to  procure  just  his  food. 
Now  what  inducement  is  there  for  him  to  stay,  but  the  love  of  his  fellow- 
man  and  the  love  of  his  Maker J?  An  agent  all  alone,  with  nothing  to  back 
him,  stands  in  very  poor  circumstances  to  do  much  good.  Then,  again, 
as  to  the  teachers.  I  was  glad  to  hear  some  one  speak  of  teachers  who 
are  willing  to  go  along  with  these  nomadic  tribes.  They  are  continually 
changing  their  camps  and  localities,  and  for  some  time  you  must  let  them 
do  it.  Those  in  New  Mexico  will  not  remain  stationary.  If  two  or  three 
die  in  a  camp,  they  will  never  stay  there.  When  they  remove,  the 
teacher  must  go  with  them.  Now,  if  he  obtains  their  confidence,  he  can 
go  with  them,  and  they  will  treat  him  with  the  utmost  hospitality  and 
kindness;  but  if  he  has  a  nice  house  and  they  have  none,  there  is  a  little 
envy  and  talk,  and  it  is  a  difficult  thing  to  answer;  but  if  he  will  go 
among  them,  he  can  do  a  great  deal  in  teaching  under  the  trees  through 
out  the'ir  wanderings.  The  boys  and  girls  will  gather  around  him 
and  drink  in  his  instructions  daily.  We  must  go  on  for  awhile  in  that  way. 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  43 

Of  course  it  will  be  well  to  change  this  order  of  things,  but  can  it 
be  done?  Now,  in  order  to  demonstrate  clearly  that  it  can  be  done,  all 
that  is  needed  is  to  pass  from  one  reservation  to  another.  You  take  the 
Camp  Grant  reservation,  which  is  a  recent  one,  anil  nothing  of  the 
kind  is  yet  undertaken.  Go  to  Camp  Apache,  a  little  longer  in  opera 
tion,  although  under  an  incomplete  and  poor  system  in  its  work;  yet 
up  there  there  are  ten  tribes  and  the  most  of  them  are  planting.  I 
visited  one  of  the  planting- grounds  off  ten  miles  with  one  of  the  Indians 
who  came  on  here.  His  name  is  Pedro.  He  was  cultivating  plenty  of 
as  good  corn  as  I  have  ever  seen,  and  some  vegetables  were  being  raised. 
He  took  a  great  interest  in  this,  and  has  now  procured  some  cattle, 
a  present  that  was  made  him  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Inte 
rior.  He  is  preserving  them  and  they  are  increasing.  He  was  very 
much  delighted  with  everything  he  saw  in  the  East,  and  he  writes  me.  or 
dictates  a  letter,  showing  how  he  proposes  to  educate  his  children,  and 
how  he  is  working  hard  to  carry  out  our  instructions;  and  he  has  asked 
a  little  house  to  be  built  him,  worth,  perhaps,  a  hundred  dollars.  As 
soon  as  he  gets  a  house  some  of  the  other  people  will  want  one,  and 
little  by  little  they  will  gather  in  the  vicinity  of  these  corn-fields,  and 
they  will  have  habitations.  Forty  miles  on  I  went  to  Miguel's  planting- 
grounds  and  there  found  very  good  crops  of  corn.  Eighteen  miles  far 
ther  another,  and  there  found  better  crops  than  the  last  place.  These 
chiefs,  now,  would  be  very  glad  indeed  to  have  a  house.  They  have 
each  asked  for  one,  and  if  they  once  succeed  and  obtain  one  that  they 
like,  they  will  remain  there  and  the  people  will  group  about  them,  and, 
little  by  little,  will  make  their  homes.  There  is  plenty  of  timber  in  that 
country.  It  was  the  knowledge  that  these  men  gained  when  they  came 
East  which  has  helped  them.  Now,  you  may  say,  u  they  did  not  really 
become  Christians,  did  they  ?"  There  does  not  seem  to  be  anything  stand 
ing  in  the  way  of  their  becoming  Christians.  There  seemed  to  be  no  idol 
atry.  You  present  the  simple  Father  to  them  and  they  love  Him.  Do 
you  say  at  once  that  they  were  rid  of  all  their  bad  habits  ?  Of  course 
not.  Miguel  said  to  me,  when  he  was  reflecting  on  his  journey  East, 
"  There  are  two  ways;  one  is  a  good  way,  and  the  other  is  a  bad  way. 
I  want  to  keep  on  the  good  way,  until  I  get  to  God."  And  I  do  think, 
after  a  careful  eight  months'  inspection  of  these  people,  and  after  hav 
ing  lived  with  them,  that  they  are  as  capable  of  culture  as  any  other 
people  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  They  are  supposed  to  be  the  lowest 
and  the  vilest.  If  they  are  the  lowest  and  the  vilest,  we  have  reason  to 
thank  God,  because  they  are  accessible,  because  they  are  docile,  because 
they  are  easily  won  by  kindness  and  the  spirit  of  love,  and  it  is  thoroughly 
possible  to  get  along  with  them.  A  great  many  people  differ,  and  you  will 
hear  speeches  if  you  will  go  into  that/section  of  the  country  full  of  tire  and 
hate  and  enumerating  all  the  wrongs  and  crimes  that  these  Apaches 
have  committed,  and  saying  that  you  must  deal  with  them  with  the 
bayonet,  and  that  only;  that  you  must  kill  them  or  bring  them  into  sub 
jection  by  fire,  and  a  great  many  people  all  over  the  East  are  convinced 
that  that  is  the  case.  One  of  our  prominent  scientific  men,  a  Christian 
gentleman,  told  me  that  it  was  the  will  of  the  Almighty  that  these  In 
dians  should  be  wiped  from  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and  many  people 
whom  I  meet  with  daily  in  Christian  circles  intimate  the  same  thing. 
But  it  is  not  true.  If  any  man  could  so  fix  it  upon  my  mind  as  to  make 
ine  believe  it,  my  faith  in  God  would  be  shaken.  They  are  children  of 
a  common  Father,  they  are  reached  by  the  same  methods  by  which  men 
are  reached  here,  and  if  you  once,  and  only  once,  can  get  their  hearts 
filled  with  the  love  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you  are  safe,  and  if  you  go 


44  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

among  them  in  His  name,  without  fear  and  without  hate,  you  will  sel 
dom  meet  with  even  a  discourtesy. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Mr.  Chairman, before  we  proceed  to  the  discussion  of  the 
four  or  five  points  which  will  be  taken  up  directly,  I  think  it  is  exceed 
ingly  important  that  we  should  hear  from  another  stand-point.  I  see 
General  Hazeu  is  present.  He  has  much  information,  and,  for  one, 
I  should  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  him.  I  think  it  is  important 
that  those  doing  work  from  the  church  stand-point  should  have  an  op 
portunity  of  being  brought  face  to  face  with  the  officers  of  the  Army, 
who  are  supposed  to  be  Indian  exterminators. 

At  the  request  of  the  Chair,  General  Hazen  spoke  as  follows : 
General  HAZEN.  Mr.  Chairman,  it  will  be  very  little  I  have  to  say, 
but  I  wish  to  corroborate  very  many  things  that  General  Howard  has 
said,  not  that  it  needs  it,  but  that  his  experience  has  been  in  many  cases 
my  own.  I  have  been  glad  to  hear  from  his  own  mouth  the  very  in 
teresting  account  of  his  mission,  and  I  know  it  will  do  a  great  deal  of 
good.  And,  as  Mr.  Welch  has  remarked,  I  wish  to  say  one  thing 
with  regard  to  the  Army  which  I  represent,  being,  perhaps,  the 
only  representative  besides  General  Howard  here.  I  think  there  has 
been  some  little  misunderstanding  as  to  the  feeling  of  the  Army  toward 
the  Indians.  There  have  been  a  great  many  blunders,  and  there  has 
been  a  sort  of  double  management  in  Indian  matters,  which,  as  in 
all  other  matters,  must  create  confusion  and  do  harm.  But  as  an  in 
stance,  coming  under  my  immediate  observation,  as  to  the  feelings  of 
the  troops,  I  will  say  that  in  1855,  when  I  graduated  at  the  Military 
Academy,  I  was  sent  to  Oregon  to  join  the  Fourth  Infantry.  1  joined  the 
post  at  Fort  Lane,  in  South  Oregon.  It  was  commanded  by  Captain  A. 
J.  Smith.  A  few  days  before  my  arrival  there  had  been  a  controversy 
between  a  white  man  and  an  Indian  about  a  pony.  It  increased  into  a 
quarrel,  whereupon  the  white  man  pulled  out  his  pistol  and  shot  the 
Indian.  His  people  very  soon  afterward  shot  some  white  men.  We 
had  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Lane,  the  post  to  which  I  reported, 
a  large  number  of  the  Indians  known  as  Eogue  River  Indians,  in  that 
country.  We  were  awakened  one  morning  at  the  post  by  the  continued 
noise  of  musketry  in  the  direction  of  one  of  these  camps,  known  as  Old 
John's.  We  immediately  hastened  over  there,  and  found  the  people  of 
Jacksonville  had  formed  a  company  of  men,  under  one  Major  Lupton. 
and  about  the  break  of  day  they  had  attacked  this  camp  and  murdered 
indiscriminately  a  number  of  Indians.  The  Indians  not  killed,  the  men 
particularly,  gathered  their  horses,  and  commenced  a  general  massacre 
of  the  citizens,  men,  women,  and  children,  on  the  upper  portion  of 
Eogue  Elver,  killitfg  and  burning  everything  that  remained  there,  and 
then  went  over  toward  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the.wrar  of  Oregon  of 
1855  and  185G  commenced.  We  gathered  up  all  the  Indians  who  re 
mained  near  the  post,  and  who  had  not  received  word  in  time  to  join  this 
party  which  had  become  hostile  and  had  committed  these  murders.  We 
obtained  from  off  the  country  the  servants,  for  then  there  were  a  great 
many  of  the  servants  who  were  Indians,  and  gathered  them  in,  knowing 
that  the  hostility  was  so  great  they  would  otherwise  be  murdered  in 
cold  blood.  We  had  probably  a  hundred  half-civilized  Indians  that 
we  brought  in  for  that  purpose,  and  we  had  four  or  five  hundred  Indians 
under  a  chief  known  as  "  Old  Sam."  We  had  no  sooner  got  these  In 
dians  together  about  the  post,  than  this  same  company  sent  in  a  mes 
sage  to  Captain  Smith  that  he  must  surrender  them,  or  upon  a  certain 
occasion  they  would  attack  their  camp.  There  was  considerable  feeling 
throughout  thecountry.  Captain  Smith  sent  back  themessage  that  if  they 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        45 

attacked  these  Indians,  they  would  first  have  to  attack  and  kill  all  the 
United  States  troops  stationed  at  that  post.  His  firmness  in  this  matter 
prevented  any  attack.  He  protected  these  Indians  while  they  were  in 
great  fright,  for  they  were  continually  receiving  information  that  they 
would  be  attacked  and  killed.  As  soon  as  this  excitement  had  fairly 
subsided  Captain  Smith  was  sent,  with  all  the  troops  and  a  large  num 
ber  of  volunteers,  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rogue  River,  to  make  war 
on  this  first  party  which  had  been  attacked.  The  war  continued  for  six 
or  eight  months,  costing  the  Government  many  millions  of  dollars,  ap 
propriated  since  by  Congress.  I  was  sent,  with  the  peaceful  portion  of 
these  Indians,  up  to  a  new  reservation  in  Oregon.  I  located  them  there, 
set  them  at  work  there,  and  I  remained  with  them  nearly  a  year.  I 
knew  nothing  of  their  progress  until  last  season  when  I  saw,  through 
the  report  of  Mr.  Brunot,  they  were  still  on  that  reservation  and  had 
made  much  progress.  I  merely  speak  of  this  to  show  you  that  the  of 
ficers  of  the  Army  are  not  all  hostile  ;  neither  do  I  believe  there  are 
many  but  who  would  be  glad  to  carry  out  a  peaceful  policy  toward  the 
Indians  if  there  could  be  some  sort  of  close  relationship  and  co-opera 
tion  between  yourselves  and  the  Army  in  order  to  prevent  massacres 
and  to  prevent  a  conflict  of  authority  and  of  orders.  After  the  war  I 
found  myself,  in  1868,  in  charge  of  the  Southern  Indians — the  wild  In 
dians.  I  was  sent  on  this  duty  under  the  auspices  of  the  Indian  peace 
commission.  The  New  York  mission  that  preceded  this  present  organ 
ization  was  composed  of  members  of  Congress  and  others.  I  was  told 
to  go  to  Fort  Cobb  and  gather  in  all  the  Indians  who  wished  to  keep 
out  of  hostility.  I  went  there,  assisted  by  Captain  Alvord.  We  told 
all  of  the  Indians  who  wished  to  keep  out  of  the  war,  then  pending,  to 
come  there,  and  that  they  should  be  protected,  and  there  should  be  no 
military  operations  against  them.  I  was  told  by  the  highest  authority 
to  tell  them  this,  and  also  that  I  would  stay  with  them,  and  would  take 
care  of  them,  and  would  teach  them  various  things,  as  I  was  instructed 
to  do.  They  told  me,  in  a  laughing  way  :  "Why,  this  has  been  told  us 
a  half-dozen  times  before,  and  three  times  we  have  been  put  in  a  very 
fair  way  of  improving;  and  your  Great  Father  has  taken  away  his 
chief,  and  has  ceased  to  do  the  things  he  said  he  would  do."  Sure 
enough,  in  about  four  weeks  a  large  military  command  came,  under  mil 
itary  auspices,  and  settled  itsejf  in  my  camp,  frightening  a  great  num 
ber  of  these  people  away.  They  did  not  return  there  until  the  military 
expedition  left  that  country,  toward  spring,  and  I  do  not  think  they 
have  all  returned  yet ;  at  least,  not  to  my  knowledge,  while  I  was  there. 
So  the  Indians  were  right  and  I  was  wrong.  We  did  not  do  toward 
them  as  we  said  we  would  do.  And  in  a  great  many  ways,  under  my 
own  observation,  other  promises,  made  in  good  faith  to  them  by  those 
sent  among  them, 'were  not  sustained.  And,  in  that  relation,  I  must  say 
it  is  exceedingly  important  that  this  commission  should  continue  its 
work.  The  great  trouble  has  been,  ever  since  my  knowledge  of  Indian 
matters  commenced,  that  a  set  of  agents  to  these  Indians  will  be  sent 
among  these  people,  making  the  promises  they  were  told  to  make 
by  the  highest  authority  of  the  land;  they  would  commence  carry 
ing  out  this  policy  ;  they  would  do  what  they  could ;  when,  in  the 
natural  course  of  events  in  our  country,  a  new  administration  would 
take  control  of  things,  and  that  new  administration  would  not  recog 
nize  the  promises  and  the  policy  which  had  been  advanced  before.  I 
seethrough  this  commission,  sinceits  organization,  such  improvement  as  I 
have  never  before  seen  in  my  lite.  In  fact,  I  have  never  until  now  seen 
any  progress  in  Indian  matters.  It  passed  along  from  year  to  year,  and 


46  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

was  without  improvement  or  opportunity  for  improvement.  But  I  have 
seen,  with  my  own  eyes  and  understanding,  the  beginning  of  a  regular 
organization  and  a  regular  plan  and  an  actual  improvement  among  the 
Indians  themselves;  and  I  am  perfectly  confident,  from  my  own  ob 
servation,  that  if  this  commission  can  be  continued  and  can  do  its  duty 
as  it  has  been  doing  it,  for  the  next  four  or  five  years,  that  we  may  safely 
believe  the  Indian  troubles  will  be  nearly  at  an  end.  I  will  only  refer 
to  the  fact  that  I  was  so  impressed  with  the  importance  of  enlisting  the 
sympathies  of  the  good  citizens  of  the  country  that,  before  this  com 
mission  was  organized  in  January,  1868,  I  wrote  to  Peter  Cooper,  then 
the  president  of  what  was  known  as  the  Indian  peace  commission,  to 
please  send  some  gentleman  of  their  own  society  to  live  with  me  that 
winter  and  to  learn  what  could  be  learned  by  personal  observation. 
The  response  was  quickly  made,  and  Mr.  Colyer  came.  The  amount  of 
good  he  did  I  do  not  know.  I  think  it  was  considerable.  Very  soon 
after  that  time  this  present  body  was  appointed,  and  I  must  say  it  is 
doing  its  work  well,  and  will  certainly  succeed  if  it  only  perseveres  in 
keeping  up  its  own  life  and  organization. 

I,  however,  now  come  to  one  thing,  and  the  only  thing  I  came  here 
really  to  say.  I  found  on  the  Washita  Kiver  a  most  peaceable  and 
deserving  band  of  Indians.  Soon  after  going  to  Fort  Cobb  they  came 
and  wished  to  talk  with  ine.  Their  story,  which  I  knew  to  be  true, 
was  that  they  had  always  lived  upon  that  river.  The  mountains 
and  the  river  had  their  own  name.  In  185S  the  Caddoes  and  some 
other  bands  were  sent  up  from  Texas  by  the  Government  with  the 
promise  that  they  should  have  a  home  there.  They  are  now  known  as 
the  Wichitas.  They  have  never  been  given  any  land  at  all,  and  live 
there  at  present  by  sufferance.  While  the  Indians  who  have  fought  us  ; 
who  have  given  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  and  on  whom  is  annually  ex 
pended  large  sums  of  money,  the  Cheyennes  and  Apaches,  and  many 
others,  all  have  land.  These  people  say  "  this  country  of  ours  is  given 
away  to  these  people  who  have  fought  you,  and  we,  who  have  raised 
corn,  who  make  our  own  houses,  who  did  not  trouble  you,  who  did  not 
go  away,  who,  during  your  great  war,  removed  to  Kansas  to  keep  out 
of  the  way,  were  left  on  our  own  grounds  without  any  reservation  or 
home,  not  knowing  but  what,  at  any  time,  it  will  be  given  away  as  you 
have  given  away  a  large  portion  of  it  already."  They  said  to  me  if  you 
can  do  anything  for  us  please  to  do  so ;  and  I  came  here  to-night,  as  it 
has  been  the  first  time  1  have  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  about  it,  to 
attempt  to  fulfill  that  promise.  I  hope  that  if  this  society  can  influence 
the  assignment  of  a  home  to  these  people,  which  they  may  know  is  their 
own,  that  they  wilt  do  so. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  would  like  to  say  a  word  in  regard  to  this.  There  is 
a  railroad  now  just  completed,  passing  within  a  very  'few  miles  of  these 
very  Indians,  and  I  speak  with  great  earnestness  when  I  say  that  I 
hope  the  Christian  people  of  the  country  will  look  after  that  particular 
tribe  of  Indians.  I  know  them  to  be  deserving.  I  know  that  they  feel 
they  have  been  greatly  neglected.  They  can  be  reached  with  very 
great  ease,  the  railroad  being  built  almost  to  their  very  doors. 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  say  a  word  or  two  in 
reference  to  the  Wichitas  who  have  been  spoken  of.  The  first  annual 
report  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  entered  at  large  into  a  statement 
very  much  such  as  General  Hazen  has  just  given  us.  Knowing  the  facts 
in  the  case,  we  endeavored  to  induce  the  Government  to  set  apart  a 
reservation  specially  for  these  Indians. 

I  wish  to  say,  in  reference  to  a  remark  made  by  my  friend  Mr.  Welch, 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  47 

iii  relation  to  officers  of  the  Army,  (although  I  know  it  was  merely  a 
jocose  remark,)  lest  it  might,  by  any  possibility,  be  misunderstood,  that 
I  have  seen  these  officers  in  all  parts  of  the  country  during  the  last  four 
years,  have  met  with  them  at  many  posts,  and  I  never  yet  have  found 
an  officer  of  rank  and  experience  in  the  Army  who  did  not  express  him 
self  in  sympathy  with  the  present  policy  of  the  President  toward  the 
Indians.  I  have  received  from  them  always  courtesy  and  co-operation. 
There  may  be  such  men,  but  I  say  that  among  those  I  have  met  there 
has  not  been  one  who  has  not  expressed  himself  in  sympathy  with  this 
policy  of  the  President,  which  looks  to  the  civilization  of  the  Indian 
race,  and  I  know  not  one  of  them  who  does  not  believe  that  the  Indians 
are  capable  of  becoming  civilized ;  that  they  have  in  them  the  same 
ability  to  reach  civilization  in  due  time,  under  proper  care,  as  exists  in 
the  white  race.  I  have  said  this  lest  there  might  be  any  misunder 
standing  in  regard  to  the  opinions  which  our  board  have  of  the  Army, 
and  in  view  of  the  efforts  of  interested  parties — opponents  of  the 
Christian  policy  of  the  President — to  disturb  the  friendly  relations  which 
exist. 

General  HOWARD.  Mr.  President,  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
Board  of  Commissioner  to  this  point ;  to  ask  them  to  do  what  they  can 
in  the  way  of  suggestion  or  recommendation  to  prevent  what  one  officer 
styled  in  a  letter  to  me  as  "  the  double-headed  policy."  There  is  no 
double-headed  policy  in  the  President's  mind,  but  I  can  give  you  one 
instance  which  will  indicate  the  thing  clearly.  Last  summer  the 
Apache  chiefs  were  here.  The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  promised 
them,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  promised  them,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  promised  them,  and  I  promised  them,  the  same  thing.  It 
was  this  :  That  if  they  would  remain  on  their  reservation  and  behave 
themselves,  they  should  have  the  privilege  of  planting,  the  privilege  of 
the  freedom  of  the  reservation,  and  should  be  unmolested.  These 
Indians  went  right  back,  and  I  had  hardly  reached  home  before  I 
received  piteous  letters  through  the  agents  stating  that  a  captain  some 
body  had  arrived  on  that  post,  not  coming  from  this  direction,  but  from 
the  other  way  and  that  he  had  ordered  every  one  of  them — men,  women, 
and  children — into  the  post,  and  ordered  that  not  one  of  them  should 
go  a  mile  beyond  the  post,  under  penalty  of  death.  They  begged  that 
they  might  be  relieved  from  that  order,  wanting  to  know  how  it  was 
that,  after  we  made  these  promises,  immediately  they  should  be  violated. 
Now,  you  may  ask  how  that  was  possible,  or  consistent  with  orders. 
The  department  commander  was  carrying  on  war  against  what  are 
called  the  incorrigible  Indians,  and  he  wanted  these  people  to  come 
into  the  post  and  to  remain  there  close  to  it  so  that  he  would  be  sure 
that  none  of  them  would  afford  assistance  to  the  others,  and  also  that 
he  would  be  able  to  protect  them.  These  were  doubtless  his  reasons, 
and  he  was  operating  under  indirect  orders  from  the  War  Department. 
You  will  thus  notice  how  the  one  case  com.es  in  conflict  with  the  other. 
But  if  we  take  a  little  pains  there  majr  be  one  single  policy  as  indicated 
and  desired  by  our  good  friend,  General  Hazen. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Mr.  Chairman,  a  single  word.  I  only  desire  to  say  that 
the  Army  officers  with  whom  I  have  been  brought  in  contact  have  been 
as  good  Indian  friends  as  I  have  ever  seen.  I  have  conferred  with 
General  Sherman  for  the  last  few  years,  and  have  been  most  cordially 
supported  by  him.  I  can  say  the  same  of  the  department  commanders 
of  the  Missouri  and  Nebraska.  They  have  supported  me  most  cordially, 
and  those  under  them  have  put  themselves  out  of  the  way  to  do  so,  and 
have  really,  I  think,  felt  a  great  deal  more  interest  in  the  working  of 


48  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

the  Indian  commission  than  has  the  Christian  church.  And  it  is 
very  encouraging  to  know  that  we  are  working  in  perfect  harmony, 
while  there  seems  to  be  a  set  of  thieves  and  plunderers  who  are  trying 
to  hiss  us  down  at  all  times  for  the  purpose  of  gain  by  the  introduction 
of  their  own  policy.  It  is  they  who  are  trying  to  sap  the  foundation  of 
the  work  we  are  doing,  and  who  start  these  stories  of  a  difference  be 
tween  the  two  branches. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  evening  is  passing  somewhat,  and  there  were 
a  number  of  topics  suggested  at  different  times  during  the  day  which  it 
was  thought  would  require  thorough  discussion.  1  will  mention  some 
of  them,  and  perhaps  during  the  rest  of  the  evening  we  can  confine  our 
selves  mostly  to  the  consideration  of  one  or  the  other  of  them,  inasmuch 
as  they  have  a  perfectly  practical  bearing.  We  have  been  hearing  a 
great  deal  of  the  evils  with  which  we  have  to  contend.  Our  object  now 
is  to  find  out  how  best  we  can  meet  and  overcome  these  evils.  First, 
then,  u  How  to  secure  proper  employes.'7  Second,  "  How  to  secure 
missionary  work  at  every  agency."  Third,  "The  true  doctrine  and 
the  true  methods  to  secure  legislation  in  relation  to  titles  to  land  in 
severalty  to  the  Indians.77  u  Complaints  against  agents  when  believed 
to  be  unjust.  What  shall  we  do  with  regard  to  them  ?w 

Dr.  LOWRIE.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  suggest  a  topic,  and  that 
is,  whether  it  would  be  practicable  for  us  in  this  country  to  take  a  leaf 
out  of  the  hand-book  of  the  British  in  India.  They  govern  India  mainly 
by  native  soldiers,  commanded  by  British  officers  of  high  order  of 
character,  and  distinguished  men.  The  rank  and  file  are  native  Hin 
doos.  I  have  been  for  months  and  months  revolving  these  matters  in 
my  own  mind,  with  a  growing  conviction  that  a  great  advantage  would 
be  gained  by  dispensing  with  the  common  soldiers,  necessarily  retain 
ing,  and  wishing  to  retain,  the  officers  on  whom  we  must  rely,  and  sub 
stituting  Indian  soldiers  for  the  rank  and  file.  I  can  see  certain  dif 
ficulties,  but  I  think  I  see  great  benefit,  and  I  would  like  very  much  it 
that  was  put  down  as  a  topic  if  it  is  thought  worth  while.  I  think  it 
would  save  the  Government  a  great  expense  and  the  Indian  women  a 
great  degree  of  demoralization.  I  think  it  would  save  many  causes  of 
outbreak  that  now  occur,  especially  on  the  part  of  intoxicated  white 
men  as  soldiers.  There  are  certain  other  reasons,  but  I  wish  to  indicate 
a  general  subject- 
Mr.  WELCH.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  question  very  much  if  that  topic  should 
be  discussed.  We  had  better  have  that  which  all  can  agree  upon,  and 
I  move  that  we  proceed  to  consider  the  matter  of  lands.  That  is  one  of 
the  fundamental  principles,  and  one  which  will  bring  up  the  question  of 
citizenship  and  all. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  remember  there  was  one  other  topic  that  was  dis 
cussed  some  time  during  the  day,  and  it  was  thought  advisable  to  refer 
'to  it  again  ;  that  is,  the  administration  of  law  among;  the  Indians.  It 
seems  to  rne  a  very  important  one. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  move  that  we  proceed  to  consider  that  subject. 
Dr.  TREAT.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  wish  that  Dr.  Lowrie's  point 
should  be  disposed  of  so  easily.  I  think  there  is  a  possibility  of  the 
consummation  of  an  arrangement  to  be  beneficial  in  all  ways.  It  is  in 
proof  that  a  number  of  Dakota  Indians  were  used  as  scouts,  and  very 
successfully  used,  very  economically  and  very  efficiently.  That  is,  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  used  were  accomplished  in  a  very  proper 
and  economical  manner.  And  I  have  doubts  whether  our  friends 
would  not  be  perfectly  satisfied  with  some  arrangement  that  could  be 
made.  I  am  not  sure  just  what  the  arrangement  should  be,  but  it 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.         49 

seems  to  me,  and  has  seemed  to  me  for  some  time,  that  the  Indians 
might  very  successfully  be  used  as  a  police. 

Mr.  WELCH.  They  are  so  used. 

Dr.  TREAT.  And  much  more  extensively  than  they  now  are.  They 
might  be  used  as  scouts  or  as  among  the  Choetaws.  But  in  some  way 
it  seems  to  me  that  topic  merits  our  consideration. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  there  is  no  other  topic  presented,  perhaps  we  may 
as  well  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  topic  which  Mr.  Welch  sug 
gested  ;  namely,  the  title  to  be  secured  to  the  Indians  to  their  lands  in 
several  ty. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Then  I  will  open  the  discussion  by  saying  it  is  the 
question  of  the  present  day.  When  we  first  commenced  this  work  those 
who  are  making  their  gains  out  of  the  spoils  of  the  weaker  had  pretty 
much  the  whole  Indian  work  in  their  possession.  We  have  driven  them 
from  point  to  point.  At  that  time  all  the  purchases  were  made  under 
their  direct  supervision  ;  so  that  in  some  cases  we  found  that  not  over 
one-tenth  of  the  appropriations  made  by  Government  have  reached  the 
Indians.  The  Indian  commission  commenced  with  the  dry-goods  first. 
As  soon  as  they  secured  an  honest  administration  in  that  branch,  im 
mediately  the  same  men  went  to  the  groceries  and  freight.  One 
item  of  freight  was  charged  at  $170,000  in  one  year,  and  the  next  year 
the  same  men  carried  it  for  $30,000.  Then  they  were  driven  to  one 
other  matter,  which  was,  applying  to  Congress  for  appropriations 
to  the  Indians,  and  they  would  take  from  50,  60,  70,  to  80,  and  90  per 
cent,  of  that.  That  has  been  stopped  by  legislation.  Now  they  seem 
by  one  consent  to  have  settled  down  upon  the  land  question,  and  there 
are  powerful  organizations  here  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  that 
mean  to  deprive  the  Indians  of  every  acre  of  their  land,  claiming  that 
they  have  no  more  right  to  it  than  a  wolf  or  a  bear.  About  giving  the 
Indians  laud  in  severalty,  there  are  difficulties.  When  I  was  last  in 
Washington,  after  returning  from  a  visit  to  the  Indians,  I  found  them 
exceedingly  anxious  on  that  subject.  I  examined  the  question  of  their 
titles,  and  saw  that  they  were  worth  nothing  at  all.  I  went  to  the  In 
terior  Department  and  asked  some  questions.  They  directed  me  to  the 
law-officer,  the  Assistant  Attorney-General,  who  has  charge  of  that  de 
partment,  to  examine  the  laws,  and  see  whether  there  was  any  existing 
law  that  would  enable  the  President  of  the  United  States  or  any  other 
authority  to  give  a  title  to  the  lands  that  the  Indians  held  in  severalty  ; 
whether  the  Government  of  the  United  States  could  give  a  title  to  the  In 
dian,  that  he  or  his  family  should  remain  in  possession  without  the 
power  of  alienation.  That  law-officer  examined,  and  said  it  would  re 
quire  legislation.  There  is  now  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  nearly  all 
that  are  interested  in  what  is  sometimes  called  land-grabbing,  to  show 
that  the  Indian  has  nothing  more  than  a  possessory  title,  even  to  the 
reservation,  so  that  some  legislation  will  be  necessary.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  persons  who  would  think  of  it  more. carefully  or  prepare  for  it 
with  greater  propriety  than  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners.  I  have 
been  assured  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  could  not  give  this 
title  that  we  want.  It  has  become  very  clear,  I  think,  to  all  minds,  aud 
to  those  who  have  visited  the  Indian  reservations,  especially,  that  they 
cannot  long  retain  their  large  tracts  of  land  ;  that  civilization  is  press 
ing,  and  this  possessory  title  is  not  the  kind  that  would  enable  them 
to  retain  permanently  more  than  they  could  well  cultivate.  When  the 
Indians  have  asked,  time  aud  again,  in  council,  what  1  thought  on  that 
subject,  I  simply  said,  "If  this  territory  is  yours  now,  that  is,  if  the 
United  States  has  given  it  to  you,  as  a  reservation,  I  believe,  after  di- 


50  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

viding  to  you  in  severally  in  this  form,  if  you  choose  to  make  improve 
ments  on  them,  no  power  on  earth  can  dispossess  you."  And  I  believe 
that  to-day.  I  believe  that  the  Christian  bodies  represented  here  can 
have  power  enough  to  give  the  Indians  perfect  titles  to  farms.  Beyond 
that  I  do  not  think  we  have  power  to  go.  We  are  always  anxious  to 
have  this  subject  considered  by  the  Christian  people  of  this  laud,  and 
the  Indians  be  made  to  realize  it  as  soon  as  they  can.  Hunting  is  be 
coming  an  uncertain  means  of  subsistence,  and  we  have  found  that  a 
number  of  wild  men  have  been  driven  in  for  food  during  the  last  winter 
and  the  winter  before,  showing  that  they  cannot  live  much  longer  by 
hunting  and  fishing  and  so  on.  This  subject,  therefore,  becomes  one  of 
the  deepest  interest,  and  I  hope  gentlemen  who  have  had  experience  in 
it  will  give  it  consideration.  If  we  can  only  agree  upon  some  basis  and 
are  willing  to  band  together,  I  have,  no  doubt  just  such  legislation  can 
be  had  for  it,  touching  farms  of  respectable  size,  as  we  desire ;  but  that 
some  legislation  is  necessary,  I  was  assured  by  the  law-officer  of  the  In 
terior  Department,  who  said  that  the  President  could  not  give  a  title 
to  it. 

About  citizenship  there  is  no  question.  It  is  admitted  everywhere 
that  an  Indian  in  this  country  has  a  perfect  right  to  leave  his  tribe,  to 
.surrender  his  title  to  anything  that  the  tribe  may  get,  and  take  up  a 
tract  of  land  as  freely  as  any  white  man  does.  Dr.  Treat  referred  to  it 
to-day.  I  am  familiar  with  these  Indians,  and  observed  them.  Those 
who  left  the  Santee  agency  went  out  without  anything  at  all.  1  was  in 
the  governor's  office  when  they  brought  in  their  money  in  five  and  ten 
cent  pieces  as  they  had  got  them,  and  paid  it  on  their  laud.  They  have 
that  land  now,  and  have  cultivated  it  to  a  certain  extent.  They  left  all 
their  roving  tribal  relations  the  moment  they  were  allowed  to  become 
citizens  of  the  United  States  and  take  up  land  as  any  other.  Therefore 
that  question  is  settled.  If  they  do  leave  them  and  abandon  their  tribal 
relations  they  abandon  all  the  money  due  to  that  tribe,  and  it  is  after 
ward  paid  to  the  other  members.  However,  Congress  at  its  last  ses 
sion  was  very  liberal  indeed  in  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
to  feed  those  Indians,  if  necessary,  who  had  left  the  tribes  of  the  Santee 
Sioux  and  gone  off  and  taken  up  farms,  showing  that  there  was  a  kindly 
feeling  toward  them.  Out  of  the  large  appropriations  to  the  Sioux  they 
now  have  authority  to  feed  these  Indians,  if  it  should  become  necessary, 
so  that  as  far  as  the  citizenship  is  concerned  that  is  arranged  for.  I  do 
not  see  how7  the  United  States  could  wrell  make  citizens  of  foreigners 
with  wrhom  they  have  treated  ;  and  there  is  one  of  the  difficulties.  If 
they  treat  with  them  as  a  foreign  power  they  cannot  well  be  both  a  for 
eign  power  under  a  treaty  and  citizens  at  the  same  time;  but  if  they 
are  willing  to  abandon  one  there  is  no  difficulty.  That,  however,  is  an 
open  question,  which  has  never  reached  any  judicial  decision,  and  it 
may  be  well,  perhaps,  to  consider  the  subject.  But  the  importance  ot 
their  having  land  of  their  own  is  evident,  and  those  of  us  who  have  had 
the  subject  before  us  see  that  we  cannot  make  much  progress  until  that 
is  done.  There  is  great  jealousy  upon  the  part  of  some  of  the  tribes. 
The  Oneidas  have  a  beautiful  tract  of  land  which  they  are  afraid  they 
cannot  keep.  Many  of  them  wish  it  divided  into  severalty,  but  no 
movement  can  be  made  in  that  way  unless  the  whole  tribe  can  agree; 
and  there  is  the  difficulty.  It  is  a  very  serious  subject,  but  the  infiueuce 
we  can  exert  by  way  of  agents  from  these  tribes  would  influence  their 
opinion  very  much  indeed,  and  we  do  not  believe  that  they  acquire  the 
habits  of  civilized  life  to  any  high  degree  until  they  do  get  that  influ 
ence.  But  then  comes  difficulty  with  the  Indians  in  many  cases  like 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  51 

those  you  have  heard  of  to-day.  When  a  death  occurs,  everything  is 
parted  with.  They  think  a  white  man  is  hard-hearted  because  he  lives 
in  his  house  as  comfortably  after  the  death  of  a  relative  as  before.  But 
these  difficulties  have  been  overcome  generally  by  Christian  influence, 
and  we  have  ennobled  them  and  lifted  them  up.  Some  of  us  have  seen 
these  men  persecuted  like  the  early  Christians  wften  they  dared  at  the 
time  of  the  death  of  any  of  their  relations  to  retain  their  property  and 
to  prevent  those  from  taking  it  who  came  around  like  buzzards.  But 
the  subject  of  the  land  question  I  feel  is  the  one  upon  which  we  should 
baud  together ;  for  that  is  the  last  ditch,  it  is  the  last  fight,  and  you  and 
I  know  something  about  it.  You  know  that  we  have  made  the  battle 
here.  We  know  there  is  to  be  a  dreadful  fight,  and  unless  we  band  to 
gether  we  will  be  w hipped. 

Mr.  HAYDEN,  of  Arizona.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  never  made  a  public  speech 
in  my  life,  but  my  experience  on  the  frontier  makes  me  feel  that  I  ought 
to  speak.  We  have  in  New  Mexico  a  perfect  title  given  to  all  the  In 
dians  in  New  Mexico  of  all  the  land  they  could  cultivate,  and  we  see  in 
New  Mexico  along  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  towns  of  Indians  per 
fectly  isolated  from  the  balance  of  the  population,  and  who  do  not  enter 
into  their  political  matters.  They  have  their  farms,  their  little  bands 
of  cattle,  and  seem  to  be  the  most  happy  people  in  the  country.  They 
never  have  been  contaminated  by  contact  with  the  Army,  which  has 
been  kept  in  the  country,  and  are  an  exceedingly  good  people,  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  it  arises  from  the  fact  that  they  had  these  lauds  and 
that  they  have  had  something  on  wrhich  to  rest  and  they  had  been  pro 
tected  in  it.  As  I  have  been  so  long  on  the  frontier,  of  course  I  enter 
into  the  feelings  of  the  frontier  people,  and  I  am  satisfied  in  my  own 
mind  that  the  great  difficulty  of  managing  this  Indian  question  in  re 
gard  to  lauds  is,  that  the  Government  has  given  them  much  more  than 
the  frontier  people  think  the}'  had  any  use  for,  or  that  they  could  make 
any  use  of,  and  they  have  therefore  encroached  upon  them  and  driven 
them  from  one  point  to  another,  while  if  they  had  given  them  what  they 
could  have  used,  and  then  educated  them,  or  if  you  could  now  sell  their 
lands  for  the  purpose  of  education,  it  would  be  much  better.  If  they 
are  your  wards,  can  you  not  take  their  property  and  apply  it  for  the 
purposes  of  elevating  the  Indians,  making  them  fit  for  civilization? 
Give  them  all  the  land  they  can  possibly  use,  make  a  perfect  title  which 
will  never  be  disturbed.  I  do  not  think  it  will  ever  be  destroyed  by  the 
frontier  people  or  by  anybody  else  if  they  only  had  the  lariid  they  could 
use,  and  all  they  could  use,  and  then  they  themselves  would  feel  satis 
fied.  We  could  make  them  feel  that  they  would  always  possess  that 
land.  I  am  familiar  with  this  subject  in  Arizona  because  I  have  been 
there  fourteen  years  and  know  a  great  deal  about  the  Indians.  But  1 
wanted  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  wrere  Indians  in  the 
United  States  having  lands  which  were  given  them  by  the  Spanish  go 
vernment  the  title  to  which  has  never  been  disturbed,  and  that  these 
Pueblo  Indians,  as  the  New  Mexican  people  have  told  me,  are  the  very 
best  citizens  they  have  of  the  working  population. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  are  very  glad,  indeed,  to  have  heard  from  Mr. 
Hayden. 

Mr.  JANNEY.  Mr.  Chairman,  this  is  a  subject  which  I  think  is  very 
important  to  the  welfare  of  the  Indians.  As  I  have  had  some  connec 
tion  with  the  management  of  the  question  I  think  it  right  to  express 
my  views.  When  I  went  out  as  superintendent  of  the  Northern  super- 
intendency  there  were  three  of  the  tribes  who  had  the  privilege  of  re 
ceiving  the  land  in  severalty.  Perhaps  I  should  say  two  of  them  at  that 


52  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

time.  They  were  the  Omahas,  the  Santees,  and  the  Winnebagoes.  ID 
one  of  the  first  councils  I  held  among  them  this  question  came  up : 
Whether  they  were  willing  that  the  Government  should  proceed  to  sur 
vey  this  land  and  allot  them  in  several ty.  They  were  apprehensive 
about  it  at  first.  I  suppose  their  apprehension  was,  that  if  a  portion 
was  given,  to  them  in  small  farms  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  or  one 
hundred  and  eighty  acres,  the  remainder  would  probably  be  jeopardized — 
that  they  might  be  deprived  of  it.  I  succeeded  in  overcoming  their  ob 
jections,  and  they  agreed  to  have  their  lands  divided  to  them.  By  a 
treaty  with  the  Omahas  they  were  entitled  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  to  a  family,  and  forty  acres,  I  think,  to  a  single  individual.  The 
Winnebagoes  had  different  stipulations,  I  think.  They  could  receive 
but  eighty  acres.  The  survey  was  made,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before 
the  certificates  came  to  the  Wiunebagoes.  They  only  received  them  a 
few  months  ago,  after  waiting,  perhaps,  two  years,  owing  to  delay,  I  sup 
pose,  in  the  Laud-Office.  However,  the  more  fully  they  came  to  under 
stand  the  importance  of  it  the  more  did  they  desire  to  receive  these 
patents,  as  they  are  called,  or  certificates.  The  certificates  granted  to 
the  Omahas  gave  them  only  a  possessory  title,  to  descend  to  their  chil 
dren.  They  could  not  alienate  their  lands;  they  could  not  convey  them 
to  a  white  person.  They  could  convey  them  to  the  Government  alone. 
It  was  thought  necessary,  as  they  are  wards  of  the  nation,  that  they 
should  not  have  the  power  to  dispose  of  their  lands  to  white  men,  be 
cause,  if  they  did  so,  white  men  would  go  among  them  on  the  reserva 
tion  ;  would  have  a  right  to  go  there,  and  would  corrupt  them,  and  they 
are  so  little  capable  of  coping  with  white  people  in  bargains  that  it  was 
believed  they  would  lose  their  lands  if  they  had  the  privilege  of  selling 
them.  That  was  my  impression,  and  I  yet  say  that  I  think  the  arrange 
ment  is  a  suitable  one;  but  I  think  they  ought  to  have  a  permanent 
title.  They  ought  to  be  secured  in  the  possession  of  their  lands.  The 
people  of  that  State  are  very  desirous  to  have  all  the  Indians  removed. 
Their  legislature  is  of  that  opinion;  their  governor,  while  1  was  there, 
recommended  it,  and  the  only  safety  for  these  Indians  is  in  the  protection 
of  the  Federal  Government.  I  believe  that  their  progress  in  civilization 
and  Christianity  depends  greatly  upon  their  having  permanent  homes 
and  having  those  homes  improved.  That  they  should  be  assisted  to 
build  their  houses,  have  their  lands  broken  and  fenced,  and  have  wells 
dug  to  supply  them  with  water.  They  will  then  feel  as  if  they  had 
homes;  and  that  is  one  of  the  first  steps  toward  their  civilization.  My 
impression  is  that  after  having  received  their  allotment  they  would  have 
too  much  land.  The  Winnebagoes  have  about  ninety  thousand  acres, 
and  the  Omahas,  of  whom  there  are  only  about  a  thousand,  have  two 
hundred  thousand  acres. 

A  VOICE.  Very  fine  land,  too. 

Mr.  JANNEY.  At  the  last  session  of  Congress  a  law  was  passed  author 
izing  the  survey  and  sale  of  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land,  of  the  reserva 
tion  of  the  Omahas,  to  sell  to  the  white  people,  the  funds  to  be  applied 
to  building  houses,  supplying  live  stock  and  agricultural  implements, 
and  to  start  an  industrial  boarding-school.  A  survey  has  been  made, 
and  1  suppose  about  this  time  they  are  nearly  ready  to  bring  the  land 
into  market.  This  will  reduce  their  reservation  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres,  and  it  will  still  be  ample.  Perhaps  they  could 
spare  more,  and  as  there  is  so  much  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  white 
people  about  their  having  so  large  a  reservation,  I  approve  of  their  be 
ing  reduced  to  a  moderate  size  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  their  benefit. 

The  Sautees  have  a  possessory  title  only.     There  is  not  a  regular  res- 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  53 

•ervation  authorized  by  Congress.  They  were  merely  placed  there  by 
the  President  or  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  their  titles,  I 
suppose,  are  simply  possessory  titles.  But  if  it  is  necessary  to  have 
further  legislation  in  order  to  secure  them  in  these  lands  they  have  had 
surveyed  and  allotted  to  them,  I  should  think  it  proper  for  this  body  or 
for  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  to  advise  the  right  kind  of 
measures,  and  to  recommend  them  to  Congress.  This  important  question 
should  be  acted  upon,  and  wisely  acted  upon. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  not  in  the  province  of  the  chairman  to  direct 
the  course  of  remarks  on  this  subject,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  we  hardly 
need  any  discussion  on  the  importance  of  having  the  Indians  coming 
to  secure  possession  of  their  lands.  It  seems  to  me  the  object  of  dis 
cussion  is,  how  shall  we  promote  that?  and  if  any  gentleman  present 
has  anything  to  suggest  in  that  line,  it  would  appear  to  me  to  be  most 
appropriate. 

Mr.  TATHAM.  Mr.  Chairman,  this  question  seems  to  me  to  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  your  success  or  failure,  in  regard  to  the  elevation  of  the 
Indians.  I  regret  to  find  in  the  report  of  the  Indian  commissioner 
sentiments  which,  to  my  mind,  are  subversive  of  success.  In  order  to 
justify  this  country  with  the  practice  which  has  prevailed  for  a  long 
time,  he  has  to  go  back  hundreds  of  years,  when  it  was  supposed  that 
kings  ruled  by  divine  right,  and  that  whatever  they  said  or  did  was  law 
immutable.  I  hold  in  my  hand  some  of  his  remarks  to  that  effect,  from 
which  he  argues  that  the  Indian  has  no  right  to  the  lands  in  this 
country  at  all,  except  what  he  derives  from  the  United  States  Govern 
ment.  He  says  that  in  the  early  history  of  the  western  world,  the  prin 
ciple  was  established,  as  between  European  nations,  that  discovery  con 
fers  sovereignty  upon  the  government  under  whose  authority  the  dis 
covery  was  made,  and  the  discoverer  wTas  accorded  the  exclusive  right 
to  acquire  the  sole  possession  and  title.  He  then  goes  on  to  show  that 
the  rights  of  the  Indian  are  nothing  but  possessory  rights.  Bishop 
Whipple,  in  a  very  interesting  speech,  quoted  the  language,  although 
I  do  not  know  where  from,  that  the  land  belongs  to  the  saints,  and  we 
were  the  saints.  That  was  the  common  feeling  then,  but  I  believe  it  has 
degenerated  into  an  idea  that  they  have  no  rights  except  what  they  de 
rive  from  us.  I  wish  to  argue  the  rights  of  conquest  and  that  kind  of 
thing.  If  there  are  any  rights  of  conquest  to  be  given  to  men,  I  cannot 
find  that  Christians  can  avail  themselves  of  that  right,  who  call  them 
selves  the  followers  of  Christ,  and  whose  title  must  be  read  in  the  New 
'Testament.  We  do  not  have  to  go  back,  I  think,  to  those  old  times 
when  might  made  right.  If  we  take  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence  as  the  foundation  of  our  Government,  we  find  there  the 
broadest  declaration  of  human  rights,  applicable  to  all  men,  and  not 
at  all  excluding  Indians.  If  we  take  up  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  we  find  it  very  much  in  accordance  with  that.  Therefore,  whether 
we  take  the  Constitution  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  or 
whether  we  go  back  to  the  higher  law,  which  I  think  is  binding  upon 
us  as  Christians,  we  do  not  find  any  authority  to  deny  to  a  people  pos 
sessing  the  land  their  right  to  it.  They  have  the  right  of  possession. 
They  have  had  the  right  of  descent  from  time  immemorial,  and  who  can 
question  such  a  title  as  that  ?  Who  is  there  in  this  room  who  can  claim 
a  right  to  any  of  the  Indians'  land  under  any  law!  Who  is  there  in  the 
United  States  who  can  do  so!  Not  a  soul.  Then  why  is  it  that  we 
find  throughout  this  report  sentiments  which  seem  to  ignore  the  rights 
of  Indians  because  they  made  treaties  with  the  United  States.  I  will 
.grant  that,  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  made  with  the  Indians, 


54  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

the  Indian  gets  no  title,  but  he  had  a  title  anterior  to  that  of  the  United 
States  which  no  honest  man  will  question  ;  and  I  hold  that  as  men,  if 
we  want  the  property  of  another,  whether  it  be  land  or  whether  it  be 
goods,  we  ought  to  buy  it,  and  pay  for  it  a  fair  consideration,  such  as 
they  are  willing  to  part  with  it  for.  I  therefore  am  prepared  to  take 
issue  with  this  general  feeling  that  the  Indian  has  no  right  to  the  soil. 
He  has  a  right  to  the  soil  as  much  as  any  of  us  have.  Here  is  a  senti 
ment  which  was  expressed  by  the  former  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  in  referring  to  certain  Indians  :  u  These  Indians  have  never  been 
collected  upon  a  reservation,  nor  brought  under  the  immediate  super 
vision  of  any  agent.  So  long  as  their  country  shall  remain  unoccu 
pied  and  not  in  demand  for  settlement  by  the  whites,  it  will  be  scarcely 
desirable  to  make  a  change  in  their  location. "  That  is  the  history  of 
the  whole  thing. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Tbat  is  a  particular  tribe,  is  it  not  ? 

Mr.  TATHAM.  It  is  applicable  to  the  whole  of  them.  So  "long1  as  it 
is  not  wanted  for  settlement  they  ought  to  be  allowed  to  have  it." 

Mr.  WELCH.  That  is  an  argument  outside  of  reservation. 

Mr.  TATHAM.  Undoubtedly.  The  Indians,  in  many  cases,  have  ceded 
portions  of  their  territory  piece-meal ;  but  does  that  destroy  their  right 
to  what  is  left  ?  Who  had  the  right  before  ?  When  they  ceded  it, 
when  the  Government  of  the  United  States  made  a  bargain  with  them, 
under  the  term  of  treaties,  it  was  a  bargain,  an  agreement.  And  when 
they  came  to"  the  Indians,  and  made  an  agreement  that  they  were  to 
have  so  much  land  that  was  formerly  the  Indians',  and  guaranteeing 
them  their  possession  forever  of  the  balance,  we  did  not  take  away  the 
original  right  of  the  Indians.  It  added  to  it,  if  it  added  anything.  It 
added  the  promise  of  the  United  States  and  guaranteed  them  posses 
sion.  It  did  not  take  away  their  original  right.  Therefore,  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  assumption  that  the  Indian  has  no  right  to  the  land  he 
lives  on  is  something  that  we  as  Christians  must  take  issue  with. 

Now,  I  wish  to  make  a  few  remarks  in  reference  to  the  Stockbridge- 
Indians.  This  tribe  were  formerly  an  intelligent  and  prosperous  people 
not  a  whit  behind  the  most  advanced  race,  possessed  of  good  farms,  well 
stocked,  and  industrious ;  but,  unfortunately  for  them,  they,  much  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Government — which  acquired  thereby  a  valuable 
tract  of  land  for  white  settlement — removed  in  1857  to  their  present 
place  of  abode.  The  change  has  proved  highly  detrimental  to  their  in 
terests  and  prospects.  Their  new  reservation  is,  the  greater  part  of  it,, 
poor,  and  the  soil  is  seriously  affected  by  the  wet  seasons  and  frequent 
ly  by  frost,  and  has  never  yielded  them  more  than  a  meager  subsist- 
ance.  And  the  Commissioner  goes  on  to  describe  the  miserable  effect 
which  our  paternal  Government  had  inflicted  by  cheating  these  men  and 
despoiling  them  of  their  improved  soil  and  putting  them  on  a  place  where 
white  men  would  not  be  content  to  live.  This  constant  removal  and  rob 
bery  of  the  Indians  lies  at  the  foundation  of  your  want  of  success.  I 
have  traced  the  history  of  the  action  of  benevolent  people  for  many 
years ;  from  the  time,  I  think,  of  Little  Turtle,  in  seventeen  hundred 
and  something.  Ever  since  the  days  of  William  Penn  I  rind  one  simi 
lar  thing  all  the  way  through  :  that  when  an  Indian  has  improved  his 
land,  and  is  in  a  fair  way  of  success,  the  cupidity  and  avarice  of  the 
white  man  comes  in,  displaces  him,  and,  by  one  plea  and  another,  re 
moves  him.  Now,  I  think  the  proper  part  is  that  we  must  attach  them 
to  the  soil  in  some  way.  Generations  have  gone  before  you,  and,  in  an 
honest  desire  to  raise  this  people,  the  same  feeling  has  actuated  the 
hearts  of  benevolent  people  before,  and  yet  they  have  failed,  and  why  t 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  55 

Because  the  Indian  lias  not  been  possessed  of  the  soil.  Therefore,  it 
seems  to  me  that  we  must  take  some  measure  to  attach  them  to  their 
land  and  to  maintain  their  rights.  So  long  as  the  Indian,  or  any  other 
human,  peaceful  being  is  looked  upon  as  an  outlaw  having  no  rights 
which  white  men  are  bound  to  respect,  so  long  as  that,  your  efforts  to 
raise  them  will  be  futile.  How  late  is  it  since  the  colored  man  attained 
his  rights  ?  I  know  I  am  trenching  upon  another  subject.  I  have  seen 
the  time  when  the  colored  orphan  asylum  in  New  York  was  burned  and 
gutted,  and  when  the  streets  were  filled  with  people  carrying  away  the 
spoils  from  that  institution  ;  why  ?  Because  there  was  no  protection  in 
law.  As  I  have  said  repeatedly,  if  Alexander  T.  Stewart's  store  in  New 
York  was  known  to  be  beyond  the  protection  of  law  for  six  hours,  there 
would  not  be  a  shred  left  in  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  gentleman  I  suppose  would  not  have  the  same 
measures  adopted  to  secure  the  Indian  his  rights  that  was  pursued  in 
the  case  of  the  negro.  Can  he  suggest  some  remedy1? 

Mr.  TATHAM.  Our  friends  will  remember  last  year  I  took  the  same 
ground.  Some  worthy  interested  men  were  afraid  of  political  action. 
We  were  trenching  upon  politics,  and  that  was  dangerous  ground.  It  is 
the  only  ground  that  we  can  stand  on  in  this  country.  What  is  Con 
gress  ?  They  are  the  expressed  will  of  the  laud.  Their  "acts  are  supreme. 
And  what  is  Congress  composed  of?  The  representatives  from  locali 
ties  all  over  the  United  States.  Are  they  interested  in  this  7  Who  cares 
for  the  Indians  ?  None.  Not  a  voice,  unless  some  benevolent  man  rises 
up  to  protect  them.  There  are  some  benevolent  people,  and  I  hope  I 
am  one  of  them.  But  we  must  increase  our  number.  You  who  repre 
sent  your  Christian  denominations  numbered  by  millions  must  educate 
your  people  to  this  point,  and  in  some  way  ask  them  to  cast  their  vote 
for  you.  When  you  'tell  these  people  in  the  Capitol  that  votes  de 
pend  upon  their  action  then  they  will  come  with  cap  in  hand.  They 
never  will  succeed  until  they  exercise  the  right  to  vote.  What  was  the 
colored  man  until  he  obtained  that  right  ?  1  was  one  of  those  whom 
General  Howard  referred  to  as  doubtful  about  giving  it  until  they  were 
qualified  for  it.  They  had  no  standing.  There  were  none  so  poor  to  do 
them  reverence,  but  the  instant  they  obtained  a  vote  you  saw  the  thing 
transformed,  and  now  even  some  of  your  members  of  Congress  are 
colored  men.  The  negroes  have  nothing  more  to  be  desired  in  that 
respect.  Give  the  Indians  the  right  of  citizenship  and  the  right  to  vote, 
and  the  whole  matter  is  secured.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  no  other  way 
than  that,  and  therefore  it  seems  to  me  we  must  turn  our  attention  to 
that.  If  the  gentlemen  who  represent  the  different  denominations  here 
will  agree  with  that,  and  carry  that  out  and  enlist  their  people  in  sup 
port  of  it,  the  thing  can  be  done. 

Dr.  BACKUS  :  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  propose  to  be  lengthy,  but  I 
should  want  hours  to  discuss  this  subject  fully.  My  mind,  for  four 
years,  has  been  settled  upon  citizenship,  as  that  to  which  we  must 
come,  and  I  was  glad  to  hear  General  Howard  speak  in  favor  of  it.  I 
have  said  it  in  private,  and  have  said  it  when  and  where  I  thought  it 
was  proper  in  public.  I  do  not  believe  we  can  stop  short  of  it  and 
have  peace  with  the  Indians.  But  I  do  not  know  how  soon  we  shall  be 
prepared  to  come  to  it.  I  know  we  took  great  care  of  the  colored  people 
for  many  years,  and  for  many  years  the  Government  thought  it  was 
cruel  to  leave  them  to  suffer ;  but  we  have  allowed  colored  people  the 
privilege  of  citizenship,  arid  I  think  we  should  now  allow  the  Indians 
the  same  privilege.  But  I  could  stand  here  an  hour  and  name  objec 
tions  to  that  course.  I  see  serious  difficulties ;  but  I  do  not  see  light 


56  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

in  any  other  source  than  citizenship,  and  that  qualification  will  carry 
with  it  homes,  property,  voting,  government — everything.  I  believe 
the  Indians  will  stand  under  that  work,  and  do  it  as  well  as  any  of  us, 
when  they  are  brought  to  it.  I  spent  some  weeks  in  the  Cherokee 
Nation.  I  was  in  the  capitol,  both  in  the  upper  and  lower  house,  day 
after  day,  when  they  were  in  session.  The  chairman  of  the  upper  house 
asked  to  have  a  conference.  I  complied.  He  named  a  day,  and  took  a 
whole  day  in  conferring  with  me  on  the  interests  of  government,  and  I 
was  very  much  pleased  to  have  him  do  so.  He  gave  me  much  light 
into  their  matters.  They  have  a  printed  constitution  ;  have  a  printing- 
press,  which  I  helped  them  to  get. 

They  print  the  paper ;  they  print  their  own  laws  5  and,  I  believe,  they 
print  for  the  Government  whatever  is  needed.  They  conduct  their 
business  in  their  upper  and  lower  house  with  their  first,  second,  and 
third  chiefs,  under  their  own  regulations,  as  well  as  some  of  our  State 
legislatures,  in  my  opinion.  I  saw  that,  by  dividing  their  land,  they 
could  give  four  hundred  acres  to  each  Cherokee  who  breathes.  I  think 
I  made  it  by  a  calculation  four  hundred  and  four  acres.  That  could  be 
given  to  a  Cherokee  or  to  an  adopted  citizen.  Now,  suppose  they  did 
so.  It  is  said  that  the  whites  would  cheat  them  out  of  it.  Then,  why 
do  not  you  take  care  of  two-thirds  of  the  poor  whites  I  Because  the 
other  third  is  cheating  them  out  of  their  land,  as  they  have  been 
doing  every  day  since  their  existence.  There  is  a  class  of  whites  who 
cheat  the  poor  jvhites.  Why  do  not  you  make  wards  of  them,  then  ? 
The  same  thing  is  done  right  over  here  among  ourselves,  and  we 
had  better  begin  at  home,  and  take  care  of  our  own  poor  fellows  be 
fore  we  go  off  and  take  care  of  the  Indians,  as  I  see  it.  But,  again : 
Suppose  it  is  so  conveyed  that  a  man  sells  his  laud,  but  cannot  con 
vey  away  that  of  his  wife  any  more  than  we  can  that  which  belongs  to 
our  wives.  You  fix  that  so  that  you  hold  one  third  of  my  real  estate. 
Well,  let  the  Indian  woman  hold  hers.  Provide  for  her  as  I  have  pro 
vided  for  my  wife,  and  you  may  provide  for  the  children  if  you  please. 
But  as  to  the  whites  going  in,  I  have  studied  that  subject ;  I  have  con 
versed  with  Secretary  Cox  and  Secretary  Delano,  and  I  say  it  is  the 
mischief  of  the  thing  that  the  whites  go  in  ;  I  saw  several  cases.  We 
had  an  excellent  student  in  the  school  under  one  of  our  teachers  some  few 
years  ago.  She  was  the  best  pupil  in  the  school,  and,  as  our  teacher  be 
lieved,  possessed  one  of  the  noblest  minds  and  hearts.  But  she  mar 
ried  a  loose  reckless  white  fellow,  who  went  in  there  from  nobody  could 
find  out  where.  The  commissioner  said  he  was  well  educated,  had  been 
a  scholar  somewhere,  had  been  in  fine  position,  and  belonged  to  a  family 
of  accomplishment.  The  teacher  said  that  could  be  seen  in  him,  but 
said  he,  he  has  lost  it  all ;  he  has  gone  into  the  lowest  depth  of  degra 
dation,  and  now  he  has  taken  my  best  pupil  away  and  I  cannot  stop 
him,  and  day  after  day  I  had  seen  this  man  in  his  white  skin  ride  his 
horse  into  the  capitol  and  then  ride  out  into  some  settlement  of  these 
Indians,  drinking  and  carousing,  and  that  was  all  he  did.  Any  rascal 
can  come  there,  marry  an  Indian  woman  and  be  protected,  and  more 
peisons  rush  in  there  who  would  otherwise  be  in  State's  prison  or  at  the 
gallows  than  go  anywhere  else.  A  large  proportion  of  their  white 
population  has  run  away  from  justice  and  from  the  gallows.  I  met  two 
men,  each  named  Hunt ;  one  was  from  Michigan  and  the  other  from  a 
town  in  Tennessee,  I  think.  I  said  to  one  of  them,  "Are  you  related  f  •  He 
replied  that  they  were  not,  and  said,  "  We  never  met  each  other  until  we 
met  down  here,  but  one  of  us  has  married  an  Indian  woman  ;  that  makes 
him  a  citizen  here,  and  he  hires  me  to  work  for  him.  That  he  has  a 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  57 

right  to  do,  and  we  are  making  money  hand  over  fist.  We  are  cutting 
off  the  lumber  for  thirty  miles  around  here  and  the  regulations  allow  it, 
and  that  Hunt,  who  married  the  Indian  woman,  is  a  citizen  and  I  am 
his  hired  man."  I  said,  "  Don't  you  take  half  the  money  f  He  said  "No, 
not  while  I  am  here  in  the  territory.  I  am  at  work  for  him  because  he 
is  a  citizen."  And  I  see  these  advantages  are  taken,  and  I  would  rather 
a  thousand  times  that  you  would  let  your  white  mechanics  and  white 
farmers  and  white  stock-drovers  take  the  land  and  buy  it,  and  live 
there  and  be  an  example  for  them  and  show  them  the  use  of  agricultural 
implements  and  how  to  cultivate  the  land,  &c.,  than  to  have  the  class  of 
population  which  now  infests  that  country.  I  say  it  would  be  better  to 
give  such  a  white  population  who  could  go  there  and  buy  the  laud  and 
set  a  good  example  and  afford  protection  j  and  I  say  again  that  the  In 
dians  of  the  Cherokee  Nation — and  I  say  it  only  for  illustration — are 
as  competent  to-day  to  elect  their  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  sena 
tors,  assemblymen,  and  justices,  as  are  white  men.  And  they  have 
them  now.  They  have  their  nine  judicial  districts,  their  nine  judges, 
they  have  their  circuits ;  they  are  well  arranged,  and  it  needs  but  a 
slight  change  to  organize  their  government  into  that  of  a  State,  allowing 
them  representation  here  at  Washington  as  other  States.  I  say  to  you, 
.as  I  said  to  Secretary  Delano,  "  You  take  these  prairie  chickens,  tie  them 
foot  to  foot  by  fives  or  tens,  and  they  will  die ;  but  cut  them  loose  and 
let  them  stand,  and  they  will  take  care  of  themselves."  And  just  so  it 
is  with  these  Indians :  tied,  crippled,  and  fettered.  It  is  said  that  they 
do  not  want  citizenship.  I  talked  that  all  through  witli  my  friend,  the 
chairman  of  the  upper  house.  When  I  first  proposed  it  he  seemed 
alarmed,  but  before  I  left  him  he  was  cheerful  at  the  thought.  It  used 
to  be  told  us  that  the  colored  people  did  not  want  their  liberty ;  that  it 
was  the  worst  thing  you  could  give  them.  I  tell  you  the  best  thing 
you  can  give  to  a  human  being  is  citizenship.  Let  self-reliance  take 
possession  of  a  person,  and  he  will  make  something  that  he  never  will 
reach  as  a  ward.  The  land  belongs  to  them  or  it  does  not.  If  it  does 
belong  to  them,  give  it  to  them  ;  but  we  give  it  to  them  as  I  give  any 
thing  to  my  little  sou.  I  say,"  That  is  yours,  but  don't  you  sell  it,  my 
boy."  Well,  then,  it  is  not  his.  The  Indians  are  simply  playing  that  it 
is  theirs,  while  we  have  everything  in  our  power  and  do  as  we  please. 
If  we  want  to  go  through  their  territory  with  a  railroad,  we  go.  If  we 
want  to  appropriate  their  property  to  ourselves,  we  say  it  is  not  theirs. 
I  feel  assured  that  the  time  is  coining  when  we  should  step  forth  and 
recognize  the  rights  of  these  Indians  to  citizenship  and  property.  If 
they  lose  their  property,  they  are  doing  no  more  than  we  have  done  be 
fore  them.  More  than  one-half  of  us  are  losing  ours,  but  we  go  to  work 
and  get  more;  we  have  to  do  so.  If  we  were  all  wards  and  could  fall 
back  on  the  Government  to  bring  us  food,  it  might  be  different.  When 
we  have  happened  to  have  had  a  hard  winter,  1  do  not  see  anything 
but  a  county-house  for  a  great  many  whites.  Still,  "  root  hog  or  die  " 
is  a  principle  j  and  let  us  put  them  in  a  position  to  "  root." 

Mr.  lioss.  Mr.  President,  I  had  not  proposed  to  say  a  word  in  rela 
tion  to  any  of  these  questions.  I  came  here  to  listen  and  not  to  speak. 
But,  as  the  distinguished  gentleman  who  has  just  taken  his  seat  has 
referred  to  the  Cherokee  country,  I  hope  I  shall  be  excused  for  saying 
a  few  words  in  relation  to  the  subject  now  under  discussion.  Two  re 
marks  were  made  this  evening  that  struck  me  very  forcibly.  One  was 
by  Bishop  Whipple.  If  I  caught  the  idea  correctly,  it  was  this:  that 
most  of  the  difficulties  which  occurred  with  the  Indians  spring  from  a 
feeling  of  despair.  That  was  one  idea.  And  why  does  that  feeling  or 


58  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

sentiment  exist  in  the  minds  of  the  Indians  ?  Is  it  not,  simply,  sir,  be 
cause  there  has  not  been  that  entire  good  faith  observed  toward  him 
that  ever  should  be  observed,  and  because  the  danger  is  that  there  is 
to  be  no  such  faith  extended,  and  he  is  doomed  to  nothing  but  disap 
pointment  throughout  his  whole  life!  That  is  the  cause  of  this  senti 
ment,  and  I  ask  this  meeting,  composed  of  gentlemen  distinguished  in 
so  many  various  denominations  and  in  so  many  walks  of  life,  to  bear 
that  fact  in  mind,  and  let  them,  so  far  as  their  influence  and  their  ac 
tion  may  go,  keep  an  eye  in  regard  to  legislation  that  is  even  now  going 
on  at  the  national  capital. 

The  next  sentiment  to  which  my  attention  was  called,  if  I  mistake 
not,  was  that  of  the  distinguished  officer  of  the  Army  who  visited  Ari 
zona.  His  idea  was  simply  this  :  to  treat  the  Indians  as  he  would  treat 
any  other  men.  Well,  sir,  I  say  so,  too.  If  he  is  a  man  and  endowed 
as  other  men,  if  he  has  ears  to  hear,  tongue  to  speak,  and  heart  to  feel, 
treat  him  as  a  man.  If  we  make  a  pledge  to  that  man,  carry  it  out. 
If  we  agree  to  do  a  certain  thing  with  him,  do  it.  Now,  sir.  in  regard 
to  the  Indian  Territory,  a  question  has  to-day  been  discussed  involving 
the  future  political  condition  of  that  Territory,  and  of  the  seventy 
thousand  Indians  who  are  there  to-day,  and  others  who,  in  all  human 
probability,  are  to  be  brought  there.  You  have  within  the  limits  of 
that  Indian  Territory  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  hope  of  the  rest  of  the 
few  hundred  of  thousands  of  Indians  that  are  left  within  your  limits. 
And  I  therefore  think  that  this  is  a  question  of  the  gravest  importance  : 
the  manner  in  which  the  legislation  of  this  Government  shall  be  con 
ducted  respecting  these  Indians.  I  need  not  tell  this  honorable  meet 
ing  that  the  most  of  the  Indians  who  inhabit  that  Territory  were  taken 
there  from  east  of  the  Mississippi.  I  need  not  tell  this  meeting  that 
they  went  there  under  obligations  which  are  still  in  existence  as  a  part 
of  the  plighted  faith  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States ;  that 
they  should  be  protected  in  their  rights ;  that  that  Territory  which  is 
ceded  to  them  should  never  in  any  time  to  come,  without  their  consent, 
be  embraced  within  the  limits  or  jurisdiction  of  any  State  or  Territory. 
That  pledge  exists  to-day.  And  so  far  as  the  question  of  title  is  con 
cerned,  I  wish  to  state  that  there  has  recently  been  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  growing  out  of  a  sale  of  six  hun 
dred  thousand  acres,  located  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  State  of 
Kansas,  to  Mr.  Joy.  That  case  came  up  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  in  such  a  manner  as  to  involve  the  question  of  the 
title  that  these  Cherokees  had  to  that  portion  of  their  country,  and  the 
Supreme  Court  decided  that  the  Cherokee  Indians  obtained  from  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  a  fee-simple  title  to  that  country, 
and  that  that  tract  of  six  hundred  thousand  acres  was  embraced  in  the 
same  patent  executed  in  1838  by  Mr.  Van'Buren  and  the  Cherokee  Na 
tion,  in  which  was  included  also  the  present  strip  of  country  which  they 
now  occupy.  Well,  sir,  it  is  in  accordance,  as  I  believe,  with  law, 
common  sense,  and  justice.  If  it  be  correct,  what  is  the  position  which 
the  Cherokee  Nation  occupies  to-day  in  relation  to  this  diminished 
reservation,  which  is  only  four  million  two  hundred  thousand  acres  left 
of  the  fourteen  millions  of  acres  that  they  owned  about  the  time  that 
the  war  commenced  ?  Why,  sir,  it  is  theirs.  If  they  own  the  fee-simple 
title  to  it,  how  do  you  propose  to  say  to  these  Indians  that  they  shall 
retain  only  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  it,  and  that  they  shall  sell 
the  remainder  of  it?  It  is  their  own.  If  they  have  a  right  to  one  foot 
of  it,  they  have  a  right  to  it  all.  And  beside  that,  the  Choctaws  and 
Creeks  and  the  Seminoles  own  their  lauds  in  the  same  way.  These 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  59 

Indians  have,  in  my  opinion,  a  fee-simple  title  to  the  country  that  they 
now  occupy.  It  was  given  to  them  when  that  country  was  not  needed ; 
when  it  was  a  wilderness,  and  when  it  was  the  policy  and  the  purpose 
of  the  Government  to  force  them  from  the  States  where  they  then  lived. 
Now,  if  they  have  a  fee-simple  title,  have  you  any  right  to  say  that  they 
shall  sell  all  over  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  per  head  ?  Why  not,  upon 
the  same  principle,  go  into  the  States  and  parcel  out  all  the  large  planta 
tions  that  exist  ?  I  think  there  ought  to  be  some  distinction  made  in 
legislation  in  regard  to  Indians,  between  the  tribes  who  are  considered 
to  be  civilized  and  those  who  are  nomadic.  They  talk  about  Indians 
indiscriminately.  They  draw  no  distinction  between  the  Indians  who 
are  living  to-day  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  cultivating  the  soil  and 
raising  stock,  and  those  who  have  no  local  habitation,  and  hardly  a 
name.  There  ought  to  be  a  difference  in  the  legislation  of  the  country  ; 
but  still  they  ought  to  be  treated  as  one.  My  friend,  Mr.  Backus,  thinks 
we  have  had  a  bad  class  of  people  coming  into  the  Cherokee  country. 
We  have  precisely  the  same  class  of  people  in  Washington  and  in  the 
Indian  country.  We  have  good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  I  do  not  think 
the  class  of  white  people,  taken  as  a  class,  who  go  into  the  Cherokee 
country,  deserve  the  reproach  to  the  extent  they  receive  it  from  the 
hands  of  persons  who  frequently  speak  of  whites  who  go  into  that 
country.  I  am  very  far  from  indorsing  their  character.  But  if  that  be 
true  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  class  of  people  ought  to  be  kept  out  of 
the  country,  how  are  we  to  be  benefited  when  we  are  made  citizens,  and 
the  whole  white  population  is  thrown  among  us  indiscriminately  f  There 
is  an  inconsistency  in  it,  it  appears  to  me.  If  these  white  people  com 
ing  in  among  us  are  exerting  such  a  bad  influence,  will  the  influence  be 
any  better  when  the  whole  race  overflows  the  land  <?  There  is  another 
question  of  importance  involved  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  Indians  in 
that  country.  It  is  the  distinction  which  is  tried  to  be  drawn  between  the 
rights  of  the  soil  and  the  sovereignty.  They  say  Congress  has  the  right 
to  legislate  on  questions  purely  political,  but  that  it  has  no  right  to 
interfere  with  the  soil.  They  say,  "  Therefore  we  will  not  regard  our 
pledges  to  you  and  protect  you,  but  we  will  extend  a  territorial  govern 
ment  and  influence  over  you."  The  right  of  self-government  of  these 
Indians  was  a  part  of  the  consideration  which  induced  them  to  remove 
from  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  practicable, 
under  the  circumstances,  for  any  territorial  bill  at  present  to  be 
passed  that  will  affect  the  Indians  in  that  Territory,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  good  faith  of  the  Government  be  preserved.  I  know  that 
this  is  a  difficult  question.  I  know  it  is  going  to  take  time  to  work 
it  out,  but  I  am  clearly  under  the  impression  that  the  policy  which 
is  pursued  in  protecting  these  Indians  on  their  reservations  is  the 
correct  one.  I  do  not  know  of  any  Indians  in  any  of  the  adjoining 
States  who  are  allowed  to  live  there  in  any  peace,  who  have  been 
protected.  Nearly  all  the  Indians  in  Kansas  and  that  section  of 
country  have  been  forced  away,  notwithstanding  some  of  them  had 
their  laud  assigned  to  them  in  severalty,  and  had  become  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Pottawatomies.  They  had  not 
been  allowed  to  remain  there,  and  had  been  forced  by  pressure  of  cir 
cumstances,  not  by  law,  to  leave  the  limits  of  Kansas,  and  are  now 
domiciled  again  in  the  Indian  Territory,  after  having  been  made  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  with  the  declaration  of  law  that,  while  therein  the 
Indian  Territory,  although  they  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  they 
shall  not  claim  or  enjoy  any  other  rights  than  Indians  in  that  Terri- 


60  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

tory,  who  are  not  citizens.  They  make  them  citizens,  and  then  they 
go  down  there  under  these  conditions. 

Now  if  Indians  cannot  live  in  peace  on  their  diminished  reservations 
in  the  State  of  Kansas,  I  want  to  know  what  inducement  they  have  to 
change  their  political  relations,  and  ask  that  they  may  be  overwhelmed 
by  a  white  population  ? 

If  I  thought  they  were  ready  for  such  a  change,  I  would  say  let  it 
come  ;  but  believing  they  are  not  prepared,  I  hope  it  will  not  take 
place.  I  hope  more  time  will  be  given  to  these  Cherokees,  and  to  the 
neighboring  tribes,  to  develop  and  improve  until  they  shall  become  pre 
pared  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  citizenship.  In  this  connection  I  may  state 
that  we  have  had  about  sixty  schools  in  operation  during  the  past  year. 
We  have  an  orphan  asylum,  at  which  we  have  seventy-five  pupils. 
We  propose  to  add  $100,000  to  it  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  our 
lands.  We  propose  out  of  the  same  fund  to  set  aside  $100,000  to  es 
tablish  an  institution  for  the  blind  and  insane  ;  $75,000  more  out  of  the 
same  source  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  school,  into  which  we  shall 
introduce  destitute  children  from  seven  to  ten  years  of  age,  Speaking 
the  Indian  language  almost  exclusively,  and  give  them  a  knowledge  of 
the  English  language. 

And  there  is  where  the  great  difficulty  lies  between  the  Indians  and 
the  whites.  There  are  two  difficulties :  one  is  the  Indian,  as  a  general 
thing,  has  not  been  brought  up  from  early  childhood  to  habits  of  in 
dustry  ;  and  the  next  is,  we  find,  among  these  many  civilized  tribes, 
that  a  large  majority  of  the  people  do  not  understand  the  English  lan 
guage,  and,  of  course,  find  it  difficult  to  get  along  when  thrown  into 
competition  with  the  whites.  Our  plan  is,  as  rapidly  as  possible  to 
teach  these  children  the  English  language,  and  then  teach  them  the 
higher  branches  of  education  if  we  can,  so  that  whenever  these  changes 
do  take  place,  (I  know  they  are  inevitable,  but  I  hope  they  will  not 
occur  at  present,)  the  great  mass  of  our  people  will  be  in  a  condi 
tion  themselves  voluntarily  to  accept  of  the  change  in  their  constitution, 
and  not  feel  that  it  is  going  to  be  their  ruin,  and  involve  them  in  blood 
shed,  as  they  would  feel  if  the  thing  were  peremptorily  pressed  upon 
them  at  present. 

Dr.  FERRIS.  I  would  like  to  ask  Brother  Ross  what  proportion  of  the 
Cherokees  are  not  able  to  speak  the  English  language  ? 

Mr.  Boss.  I  merely  make  an  estimate  w7hen  I  say  there  must  be  two- 
thirds  of  them  who  cannot  speak  English. 

Mr.  WELSH.  To  bring  this  matter  to  a  practical  point,  I  would  merely 
move  that  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  be  requested  to  procure 
such  legislation  as  will  enable  the  Government  to  give  a  title  to  farms 
to  Indians  5  that  seems  to  me  to  be  all  that  is  necessary.  Some  little 
legislation  is  needful.  My  motion  is  that  the  Board  of  Commissioners 
be  requested  to  consider  the  propriety  of  the  matter,  arid  act  upon  it 
if  they  see  fit. 

Mr.  TATHAM.  I  should  be  glad  if  the  representatives  of  the  various 
bodies  here  would  say  that  we  remonstrate  against  all  action  tending 
to  rob  the  Indians  of  their  land,  and  that  we  will  not  vote  for  any 
man,  but  will  do  all  we  can  to  prevent  the  return  of  any  man,  who  casts 
a  vote  in  that  direction. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  W^elch  was  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  WELCH.  As  to  the  administration  of  law,  there  is  one  bill  which 
has  just  passed  the  Senate,  providing  for  the  appointment  of  five  inspect 
ors,  who  are  to  visit  each  year  every  Indian  reservation  with  special 
reference  to  seeing  how  far  law  is  administered,  and  in  what  way  it 


JOURNAL  OF  SECOND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE.        61 

can  be  administered.  Congress  sees  tbe  difficulty,  and  they  are  en 
deavoring  to  remedy  it. 

General  HOWARD.  Mr.  President,  I  think,  on  the  subject  of  the  law, 
that  the  suggestions  of  Bishop  Whipple  were  right  to  the  point.  I  saw, 
all  through  Arizona,  that  there  was  a  necessity  for  some  legislation  be 
yond  anything  which  now  exists  ;  that  certainly  there  should  be  some 
body  clothed  with  judicial  authority.  A  great  complaint  arises  in 
Arizona  that  crime  is  not  punished.  That  is  true.  There  is  no  pun 
ishment  for  crime  unless  you  bring  the  army  and  shoot  right  into 
a  whole  tribe,  although  the  depredations  may  have  been  committed 
by  but  a  few.  If  there  were  magistrates  to  punish  the  guilty  it  would  save 
the  Pimas  from  a  great  deal  of  unmerited  accusation,  and  it  would  be 
the  same  with  the  Papagos.  In  speaking  some  time  ago  in  respect  to 
citizenship,  I  had  in  mind  especially  these  tribes.  They  need  men  of 
judicial  functions.  In  the  different  pueblos  in  New  Mexico  they  have 
their  own  methods  of  government.  All  ought  to  be  under  some  law,  so 
that  all  will  feel  that  when  murders  are  committed  the  criminal  may  be 
brought  to  justice  and  punished,  be  he  white  or  be  he  Indian. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  whether  the  Board  of  Indian 
Commissioners  have  that  subject  especially  before  them.  The  chair 
man  is  right.  He  has  seen  the  evil.  It  must  be  remedied  in  some  way. 
We  find  it  utterly  impossible  in  the  Indian  country,  unless  we  are  near 
some  fort,  to  obtain  justice.  People  may  depredate  and  do  anything 
they  please  ;  there  is  no  law. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Will  Mr.  Brunot  give  us  information  on  that  point? 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  Our  board  have  again  and  again  had  that  question  be 
fore  them,  and  in  our  visits  to  the  Indians  we  have  constantly  had  be 
fore  us  evidences  of  the  necessity  of  some  civil  laws  which  may  be  ex 
tended  over  certain  tribes.  It  would  be  utterly  impracticable  to  extend 
our  civil  law  over  all  the  Indian  tribes  without  doing  a  vast  deal  of 
mischief.  The  exercise  of  the  plainest  law  over  some  of  the  wild  tribes 
would  be  simply  and  necessarily  considered  by  them  as  an  act  of  war. 
They  are  not  capable  of  understanding  it  in  any  other  way,  and  until 
they  are  taught  better  there  is  no  wisdom  in  proposing  to  extend  civil 
law  over  such  tribes.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  other  tribes  of  In 
dians  as  capable  of  being  ruled  by  the  civil  laws  of  our  country  as  our 
selves,  and  I  believe  that,  if  these  laws  were  extended  over  them,  there 
would  be  far  less  crime  committed  within  these  communities  than  in 
any  white  community  I  know  of  relatively  to  the  population.  I  may 
mention  one  or  two  incidents.  Take,  for  instance,  a  tribe  1  visited  a  few 
years  ago  where  there  had  been  eleven  murders  of  Indians  by  Indians 
within  a  year,  and  yet  no  adequate  punishment  could  be  administered 
lor  the  simple  reason  that  the  first  attempt  of  the  superintendent  to 
secure  the  punishment  of  one  of  these  murderers  was  resisted  by  attor 
neys  among  the  whites,  and  the  person  was  discharged  by  the  court.  I 
found,  at  one  place,  two  Indians  wearing  a  ball  and  chain  under  the 
superintendent's  sentence  of  six  mouths  at  Lard  labor  for  murder. 
They  were  very  anxious,  at  the  close  of  the  council,  to  have  the  oppor 
tunity  of  appealing  to  me  against  the  supposed  wrong  being  perpetrated 
upon  them  by  the  superintendent,  I  agreed  to  hear  them,  and  after  the 
council  they  came.  I  said,  in  answer  to  their  question  as  to  why  the 
superintendent  was  allowed  to  make  them  wear  these  chains  and  to 
work,  u  What  does  he  punish  you  for  P  u  For  killing  a  man."  I  said, 
"  Did  you  kill  him  P  They  replied,  "  Yes,  we  killed;  him  but  then  we 
had  a  right  to  do  it — he  killed  one  of  our  friends/'  And  that  was  all 
their  idea  of  law;  yet  these  people  were  working  as  white  men  work  and 


62  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

among  white  men.  They  wore  the  clothing  of  civilized  men,  some  of 
them  spoke  English  well,  and  were  as  well  fitted  for  the  possession  of 
citizenship  as  white  people  of  a  similar  class  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
That  is  one  illustration.  Perhaps  another,  which  occurred  in  the  same 
region,  would  be  still  more  striking.  Three  or  four  years  ago  an  order 
was  issued  that  as  slavery  had  been  abolished  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  the  President  could  not  permit  slavery  to  exist  among 
the  Indians.  Consequently  it  became  necessary  that  a  number  of  per 
sons  of  other  tribes  held  among  the  Indians  should  be  allowed  to  go 
back  to  their  friends.  There  was  one  man  who  could  read  and  write 
and  had  what  is  called  a  good  common-school  education,  and  was  at 
that  time  in  the  employ  of  the  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  of  the 
Territory.  He  had  in  his  family  a  slave,  an  Indian  girl,  whom  he  re 
garded  as  a  member  of  his  family.  I  believe  they  were  greatly  attached 
to  her,  and  she  occupied  almost  the  relation  of  one  of  the  children. 
When  this  order  was  given  to  him  and  he  was  required  to  free  the  girl, 
he  quietly  said,  u  I  will  free  my  slave  in  my  own  Avay,"  and  he  deliber 
ately  wreut  home  and  shot  her.  That  man  could  not  be  punished, 
although  the  incident  occurred  almost  in  the  suburb  of  one  of  the 
western  towns,  simply  because  the  civil  law  of  the  country  could  not  be 
exercised  over  the  Indians.  Such  had  been  the  decision  of  the  courts. 
The  thing  had  been  attempted,  and  it  could  not  be  done.  A  more  strik 
ing  illustration  than  this  probably  would  not  be  needed,  and  I  presume 
even  these  wrere  not  needed  to  convince  the  gentlemen  present  of  the 
necessity  of  some  action. 

Then  on  the  other  point  of  the  necessity  of  such  extension  of  civil 
law  there,  as  shall  protect  the  Indians  against  the  whites,  as  well  as 
against  each  other,  I  mention  a  single  instance.  On  the  borders  of  the 
Indian  Territory,  in  a  town  containing  a  population  of  some  hundreds, 
not  more  than  three  years  ago,  an  Indian  was  lying  in  a  saloon  on  a 
bench  asleep.  I  believe  he  W7as  not  intoxicated.  Several  young  men 
entered  the  saloon,  and  one  of  them  said,  he  believed  he  would  kill  that 
Indian.  He  took  out  his  revolver,  and  shot  at  the  sleeping  man  as  he 
lay  on  the  bench,  and  killed  him.  After  the  deed  was  done,  it  was 
thought  there  might  possibly  be  some  punishment  attempted.  The 
father  of  the  murderer  wras  the  judge  of  the  court.  The  judge  was 
immediately  sought.  He  was  aroused  at  midnight,  was  consulted 
on  the  subject,  and  at  once  organized  his  court,  assembled  a  jury,  tried 
the  criminal,  acquitted  him,  and  the  next  day  he  wras  a  free  man,  and 
none  could  touch  him  for  the  crime  he  had  committed.  That,  I  presume, 
is  a  sufficiently  striking  illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  justice 
for  the  Indians  in  some  quarters  of  the  border. 

Now,  sir,  as  to  the  remedy,  our  board  have  done  what  wre  could  in  the 
way  of  public  recommendation  iti  several  reports ;  and,  in  the  report  just 
printed,  we  have  asked  or  recommended  that  a  law  should  be  enacted 
which  will  authorize  the  President  of  the  United  States,  at  his  discre 
tion,  to  extend  the  civil  law  by  proclamation  over  any  Indian  tribe 
where  he  should  deem  it  proper.  I  know  of  no  other  plan  by  which 
this  thing  can  be  reached  without  doing  a  degree  of  damage  in  some 
quarters,  not  perhaps  equal  to,  but  approximating  in  some  degree  the 
good  it  would  do  in  others.  I  hope  the  gentlemen  present  will  use  what 
ever  influence  they  may  have  with  the  members  of  Congress  to  induce 
the  enactment  of  such  a  law  as  this  which  we  have  recommended. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose  it  is  drawing  near  the  time  to  close  the 
discussion.  There  is  one  question,  however,  w7hich  I  would  like  to  ask 
Mr.  Brunot  in  relation  to  this  suggestion  to  Congress,  and  that  is  whether 


JOURNAL    OF    SECOND    ANNUAL    CONFERENCE.  63 

it  is  accompanied  with  this  condition  :  that  the  President  have  authority 
to  extend  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  such  laws  as  are  applica 
ble  over  the  Indians,  whenever  they  consent  to  it.  If  it  does  not  em 
brace  that  condition,  then  we  run  counter  to  the  principle  of  our  whole 
treatment  of  the  Indian  nations,  as  a  separate  organized  or  unorganized 
independent  body.  The  whole  policy  of  the  Government  has  been 
hitherto  to  treat  with  them,  and  the  moment  you  begin  to  treat  with 
them  you  treat  with  them  as  outside  persons,  over  whom  we  have  no 
other  authority  than  those  which  are  secured  to  us  by  treaty.  And  it 
seems  to  me  that  any  recommendation  to  Congress  to  empower  the 
President  thus  to  act  should  be  accompanied  with  this  condition, 
"  whenever  they  are  prepared  to  receive  it.77 

Mr.  BRUNOT.  I  would  state  in  reply,  and  as  additional  information  on 
the  subject,  that  at  the  reservation  on  the  west  coast  from  which  I  have 
taken  my  illustrations,  the  Indians  have  for  years  desired  that  there 
should  be  protection  to  their  lives  by  the  extension  over  them  of  law 
for  the  punishment  of  crimes.  Nearly  all  the  treaties  provide  that  the 
civil  law  of  the  United  States  may  be  extended  over  the  Indians  at  some 
time,  I  believe,  when  they  shall  be  deemed  fitted  for  it ;  shall  abandon 
their  tribal  relations,  and  express  the  wisn  to  become  citizens.  That  is 
the  usual  provision.  But,  I  think,  that  this  civil  law  should  be  extended 
over  them^  even  though  they  shall  not  be  entitled  to  the  privilege 
of  citizenship.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood.  I  think  many  of 
these  people  are  fitted  for  citizenship  now,  and  should  have  that  privi 
lege.  But  I  do  not  wish  thai  they  shall  wait  for  this  protection  to  their 
lives  until  the  Government  is  ready,  or  the  people  around  them  are 
ready  to  concede  to  them  that  privilege. 

Mr.  TATHAM.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  believe  it  is  a  well-settled  principle  of 
law  that  crime  committed  in  any  jurisdiction  is  subject  to  that  juris 
diction.  If  an  Englishman,  for  instance,  were  to  commit  a  murder 
here  he  is  liable  to  the  law  here.  I  do  not  say  that  in  the  instance  of 
murder  mentioned  by  Mr.  Bruuot  the  prisoner  was  not  amenable  to 
the  law  of  the  land.  It  was  not,  as  I  understand  him,  committed  on  a 
reservation.  The  difficulty  is  that  these  Indians  are  held  to  be  outlaws, 
and  to  have  no  standing  in  court,  and  where  that  ruling  comes  from  1 
cannot  understand.  We  took  some  action  in  reference  to  this  matter 
last  year,  presented  a  memorial  to  Congress,  and  I  know  it  had  great 
effect  upon  them.  If  it  had  been  followed  up  Congress  was  ready,  as  I 
was  informed,  to  enact  a  suitable  law.  But  nothing  has  been  done.  It 
seems  to  me  it  is  necessary,  when  we  ask  or  recommend  to  Congress  any 
action,  that  we  should  be  prepared  with  some  provision  to  that  end. 
There  is  no  use  in  making  a  general  request ;  they  have  no  time  to  at 
tend  to  it.  You  must  first  have  the  thing  clearly  arranged ;  then  wait 
upon  them  and  give  your  reasons,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  succeed. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  In  other  words,  the  gentleman  thinks  that  it  would 
be  expedient  for  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  or  some  person  connected 
with  them,  to  prepare  a  bill  such  as  they  think  Congress  should  enact 
and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  some  member  of  Congress  who  will  see  that 
it  is  properly  presented.  To  pass  a  resolution  and  ask  Congress -to  do 
something  without  ourselves  furnishing  them  with  an  idea  of  what  we 
want  done  is  just  to  do  nothing. 

Adjourned  to  meet  at  11  a.  m.  to-morrow. 

The  meeting  was  held,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  at  11  o'clock  a.  in., 
Thursday,  January  10. 

Rev.  George  Whipple  was  requested  to  continue  as  chairman,  and  Rev. 
J.  G.  Brown  was  elected  secretary. 


64  BOARD    OF    INDIAN    COMMISSIONERS. 

After  some  discussion,  tbe  following  resolution  was  adopted: 
Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  wait  upon  the 
President  to  inform  him  of  the  substance  of  the  reports  given  by  the 
several  delegations  representing  the  progress  of  the  work  in  which  we 
have  been  engaged,  and  to  communicate  our  high  gratification  with  the 
sentiments  expressed  by  him  in  his  letter  to  a  Hon.  Geo.  H.  Stuart,  of 
the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  October  20,  1872,  in  which,  refer 
ring  to  a  rumor  of  a,  contemplated  change  iu  the  policy,  he  said : 

Such  a  thing  has  not  been  thought  of.  If  the  present  policy  toward  the  Indians  can  be 
improved  iu  any  way  I  will  always  be  ready  to  receive  suggestions  on  the  subject;  but  if 
any  change  is  made  it  nrnst  be  on  the  side  of  the  civilization  and  christianization  of  the 
Indians.  I  do  not  believe  our  Creator  ever  placed  the  different  races  of  men  on  this  earth  with 
the  view  of  having  the  stronger  exert  all  his  energies  in  exterminating  the  weaker.  If  any 
change  takes  place  in  the  Indian  policy  of  the  Government,  while  I  hold  my  present  office, 
it  will  be  on  the  humanitarian  side  of  the  question. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  named  as  the  committee:  Rev.  George  Whipple,  chair 
man;  Benjamin  Tathain,  esq.,  Rev.  J.  M.  Ferris,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell,  and  John  A. 
King.  esq. 

The  committee  called  upon  the  President,  and  having  performed  the 
duty  assigned  them,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to  the  President 
by  the  chairman : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  16, 1873. 
To  the  President  of  the  United  Stales  : 

A  meeting  of  representatives  of  the  various  missionary  and  other  organizations,  co-operat 
ing  with  the  Government  in  the  care  of  the  Indians,  %v as  held  at  Washington,  on  the  15th 
and  16th  of  January  instant. 

The  representatives  present,  deeply  impressed  with  the  very  gratifying  reports  of  the  suc 
cessful  working  of  the  peace  policy  of  the  administration,  and  the  very  encouraging  results 
of  their  missionary  labors  in  connection  with  it,  unanimously 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  President,  to  inform 
him  of  the  substance  of  the  reports  given  by  the  several  delegations  representing  the  pro 
gress  of  the  work  in  which  we  have  been  engaged,  and  to  communicate  our  high  gratifica 
tion  with  the  sentiments  expressed  by  him  in  his  letter  to  a  member  of  the  board  of  Indian 
commissioners,  October  26,  1872,  in  which,  referring  to  a  rumor  of  a  contemplated  change  in 
the  policy,  he  said  : 

'"  Such  a  thing  has  not  been  thought  of.  If  the  present  policy  toward  the  Indians  can  be 
improved  in  any  way,  I  will  always  be  ready  to  receive  suggestions  on  the  subject,  but  if 
any  change  is  made,  it  must  be  on  the  side  of  the  civilization  and  christianization  of  the 
Indian.  I  do  not  believe  our  Creator  ever  placed  the  different  races  of  men  on  this  earth 
with  the  view  of  having  the  stronger  exert  all  his  energies  in  exterminating  the  weaker.  If 
any  change  takes  place  in  the  Indian  policy  of  the  Government,  while  I  hold  my  present 
office,  it  will  be  on  the  humanitarian  side  of  the  question. 

"  'U.  S.  GRANT."' 

The  following  gentlemen  were  named  as  the  committee  :  Rev.  George  Whipple,  chairman  ; 
Benjamin  Tatham,  esq.,  Rev.  J.  M.  Ferris,  D.  D  ,  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiel,  John  A.  King,  esq. 

The  committee  having  waited  on  you  in  person,  and  collectively  and  individually  ex 
pressed  to  you  their  high  appreciation  of  the  policy  referred  to,  their  great  gratification  at 
the  success  reported  from  all  parts  of  the  field,  and  their  profound  conviction  that  a  few  years' 
continuance  of  that  policy  will  place  it  beyond  the  fear  of  hostile  intervention,  and  insure 
its  ultimate  triumph  in  the  civilization  of  the  Indians,  it  only  remains  for  me,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  to'  assure  you  of  the  continued  and  cordial  co-operation  of  the  various  bodies  repre 
sented  in  the  meeting,  and  implore  for  you  the  continued  presence  and  blessing  of  Almighty 
God. 

Very  respectfully  and  truly  yours,  &.c., 

GEORGE  WHIPPLE, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee. 
THOMAS  K.  CRKE,  Secretary 


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BERKELEY 

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